Water Lilies
by hpMarauder4Life
Summary: Harry Potter had lived a hard life. Now he's finally defeated Lord Voldemort and can lead an almost normal life. But that doesn't matter, seeing as he can't even remember who he was. H/G, R/Hr.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I got this idea one night and suddenly found myself writing it down. This is just one of the ways Harry's life could have turned out after the Final Battle, one of the What Ifs after that last chapter ended.

* * *

His eyes slowly eased their way open, light flooding his pupils. He immediately shut them once again, but then, even slower than he had before, he opened them fully. The room was empty and entirely unfamiliar to him. This was not his room; but, then again, what was his room? What did it look like, how big was it, where was it? Blinking repeatedly, he reached for his head. A thick bandage surrounded his hair, and he then wondered what color his hair might be.

Noises made their way into the room, and he struggled to find out their causes, what was making them, who were making them. He felt the need to know some of them, but his mind rattled, empty, with no information for him. His growing frustration was beginning to bother him when a man appeared in the room, dressed in odd clothes, but, then again, he couldn't really call them odd seeing as he didn't know what was normal.

"Mr. Potter, how are you feeling?" The man had scruffy brown hair and deep, brown eyes. His face was fair and he carried himself with an abundant amount of pride. He seemed to know who the confused man was. The man began touching various parts of his, Mr. Potter's, apparently, throat and face; his hands were cold and were completely unwelcomed.

"I'm Healer Burns, you took a nasty hit to the head, mate."

Healer Burns looked at the man in the bed, who remained silent, his eyes curious. The healer began to wave his hand in front of the man's face, concern etched in his eyes.

"Follow my finger, please, Mr. Potter." He followed Healer Burns's finger cooperatively, but the same curious expression remained.

"Are you all right, Mr. Potter?" His voice was firm and he continued pressing firmly to various parts of Mr. Potter's body, from his wrist to his throat once again.

"Yes." He answered slowly, unsure if the words would come out right.

Healer Burns watched his face for a moment before yelling out. "Nurse Hanley!"

A short red headed woman came in, a cheerful grin that stretched ear to ear on her face. She too was dressed in odd clothes, only they were a pale purple color, unlike the vivid green of Healer Burns' clothes. She went straight to Mr. Potter's bedside and started poking him in the same manner the Healer had already done twice. It was beginning to irritate Mr. Potter, who was still curious as to what his first name was.

"He seems distant, lost almost." The Healer informed the woman, the nurse, Mr. Potter suddenly remembered, as he flipped through a clipboard full of papers.

"Have you tried asking him questions?" the nurse asked politely.

"Yes."

"Other than how he felt?"

"Er…"

Nurse Hanley patted the man's arm. "It happens with all the newer Healers, Mr. Burns. Now, Harry dear…"

"I've been a healer for two years, Nurse-" He started, but she waved him off, looking at Harry.

Harry, that was his name; Harry Potter, it sounded nice enough he decided. The nurse walked over to the side table that rested beside his bed. She reached into the top draw and pulled out a photograph. Sitting on the bed she held it up for Harry.

It was of a large family, judging by all their red hair. They all had smiles on their faces, but they all seemed forced. He could identify a mother, and a father, and six young adults, most likely the children. The oldest one stood beside a beautiful woman with silvery blonde hair and a brunette stood beside one of the younger men. The children were all red-headed boys, and one lone girl, most likely the youngest by her looks.

The nurse pointed to the red-headed girl. "Tell me something about her." She said, her smile only growing wider.

Harry opened his mouth, but words did not come. He struggled to speak; he knew how to speak, right? Finally the words he had been searching for came to him.

"Red hair?"

The woman's grin faded entirely. She released a deep sigh and looked at the Healer who was studying Harry. They both knew what was wrong. Was there something wrong? Perhaps there was, seeing as he didn't know much of anything.

"What's your full name?" The healer asked, not moving.

"Harry Potter." It was slow and unsure like all his previous answers.

"No your _full_ name, including your middle."

Harry's mouth hung open for several moments. What was his middle name? He certainly did not know. He shrugged his shoulders. A mad grin spread across his face and he laughed softly, like a little boy.

"I dunno. D'you know?"

"Nurse Hanley, can you please run to floor four and get-"

"I know what you need." She nodded curtly and left the room.

The Healer dragged a chair to the side of his bed and crossed his arms as he sat down. Harry observed him, pride still radiated from the man. He was arrogant; he couldn't be more than twenty-two, maybe even younger. He hadn't shaved in what looked like two to three days and he had the faintest black markings beneath his tender eyes, so faint nobody else would have noticed them, except for Harry.

"You haven't shaved in two days and last night you were drinking. You're unhappy with your personal life so you do your best to make it nonexistent by devoting yourself to work." Harry blinked, shocked at what had just emerged from his mouth. He didn't even know where he was or how old he was, or what color his eyes were and yet he knew everything about this man by merely looking at him.

Healer Burns chuckled. "I bet you could tell me the last time I had sex too."

"Last week." Harry blurted out, reaching for his mouth as a seed of fear being planted deep within his stomach.

Burns laughed again. "I know this probably frightens you, Harry, but don't grow too worried over it. You have _Pueritia Memoria, _Childhood Memory. Your mind is like a book, and this spell wipes the pages clean. You have to go back and recreate your entire life's worth of memories."

"Spell?"

He sighed. "Harry, you are a wizard."

_The room suddenly disappeared and Harry found himself in a wet shack. A hot fire was burning and on the dusty sofa sat a man several times Harry's size. His beard and hair blended together, long and wild and his coat looked like it could be the sheet of a king-sized bed. A family of three sat cowering together, a rather fat man with a thick mustache and a tall, blonde woman who kept a firm grasp on her fair haired, pudgy son. The giant man was looking with wide eyes at the small boy in front of him. The boy had round glasses and messy, jet black hair. His emerald eyes held a slight sense of fear, and he seemed surprisingly calm for a boy his size to be standing before a man so large. The giant spoke, his voice rough and as large as his size. "Harry-yer a wizard." _

Healer Burns was standing above Harry, holding a long wooden stick that emitted a light from the tip, as if a light bulb was inside of it. He was holding Harry's eyes open and shining the light above them.

"Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry." He was unaware of what he was saying; he only knew that words were flooding from his mouth. "Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys. We await your owl by no later than July thirty-first…" Suddenly his breathing grew heavy and he shut his eyes, as if the light was painful. "Never-insult-Albus Dumbledore-in front-of me." His eyes flew open the moment after those words flew from his dry, cracked lips.

Harry looked up at Healer Burns with wide eyes full of panic. "Do you remember a lot?" He asked quietly, putting his wooden stick in his pocket.

"I'm a wizard…" Harry said slowly. "Magic is real, and there's a school, Hogwarts." He thought for a moment. "Did I go there?"

"Yes, you did. And you're making progress, but from you I'm not shocked. Though, I wouldn't expect memories to flow like that all the time. Only every once in a while." He sat back down in his chair. "It's going to be like you're a child, growing up all over again. Right now, you're a mere toddler, perhaps three or four, still rather quiet and frightened. By the end of the day, or possibly week depending on your particular case, you should be about six or seven, and then eventually you will make it to eighteen, your proper age."

"I'm eighteen?"

"Yes. And you're the Chosen One." Burns nodded. "There was a very evil wizard. He came to your family's home when you were merely a year old and killed both of your parents. Then he tried to kill you."

Harry licked his lips, the seed of fear growing and beginning to bloom.

"But the Killing Curse, something nobody has ever survived, failed. You are the only known person to survive it, and you were a baby no less. Your godfather, Sirius Black, was blamed for their murders, he was believed to have been a Death Eater, You-Know-Who's followers. In reality it was another one of the Potter's friends, but Black was sent to Azkaban, the wizard prison.

"You were sent to live with your aunt, uncle and cousin, who were non-magical. We call them muggles. They hid your magical identity until you were eleven when you were supposed to attend Hogwarts; you then went to school and had quite an adventurous first year. You fought a troll and saved the Philosopher's Stone from the Defense Against the Dark Art's teacher who was working for You-Know-Who. You did this alongside your two friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.

"In your second year of school, you saved Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister from the Chamber of Secrets, where a rather large snake called a Basilisk attacked you. You destroyed it and saved Ginny. Your third year proved more exciting on a more personal level. Sirius Black, your godfather escaped from Azkaban. Dementors, large horrible things that suck out souls, were posted at Hogwarts to search for him. You discovered his innocence but he still had to flee." He stopped, observing Harry.

"Is this too much for you?"

"I really don't understand it all, but it seems…normal."

Burns nodded. "It's because it is your memory. It's still in your mind, but it's…lost."

"I think I understand."

"Well, later you won't be so easy to comply with. At the earliest stage of this memory loss, you're so confused by everything that your mind goes into a state of speed almost, it takes information in without attaching it to emotion, making it far easier for you to absorb massive amounts of knowledge. It's hard to explain."

Harry shrugged. Nurse Hanley came into the room, a thick book and several smaller ones tucked beneath her arm. She handed the three smaller books to the healer and then she smiled at Harry. He was beginning to find a familiarity to this woman, like he knew someone like her…but he didn't know anyone beside Healer Burns and Nurse Hanley. But Burns had said his memory wasn't truly gone, just lost.

"Here." She gave harry the thick novel and saw his name in large letters on the cover.

"The Life of Harry Potter. I have my own book?" He asked bashfully.

"You're very famous Harry." She patted his arm delicately.

"You can skip to chapter fifteen or so, I've filled you in on over half of what that book will tell you." Healer Burns muttered, flipping through his own stack of books attentively.

Harry opened it to, Chapter Fourteen-Dragons, Mermaids and Mazes of Doom, the title did not sound appealing but he skimmed through it, feeling more refreshed than he had earlier.

"Nurse Hanley, did I really fly on a broom to get away from a…" He read the name carefully, "Hungarian Horntail?"

"Yes, you did, sweetie."

"Oh." He turned back to the book and listened to the nurse and healer's whispered conversation.

"Do you think it will come back?"

"It's Harry Potter, his magical power is off the charts. He should be fine in a few months."

"Don't be so sure of yourself, Burns. That can be a downfall for many healers."

"I know what I'm doing."

He heard Nurse Hanley sigh. "So, what exactly does this type of memory loss entail?"

"He's like a child that needs to grow up all over again. There are a few positives to this though."

"Positives?"

"His vision has been corrected, that's why he hasn't requested his glasses. The fall affected his optic nerve and gratefully, it was in a good way, he could have gone blind. He's also highly observant. He could tell what I'd been doing last night and the last time I'd had sex even."

"I should warn the other nurses…or not."

Harry wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was listening to their conversations. He found it hard to imagine Nurse Hanley doing anything mean to anyone. But maybe she wasn't being mean? What exactly was considered mean?

"Did I wear glasses?" He suddenly asked.

Burns looked up from his book for a moment. "Yes, but the fall corrected your vision."

"How did I fall?"

"Remember You-Know-Who?"

"Yes, he killed my parents and tried to kill me." His bluntness caused Nurse Hanley to sigh sadly, her eyes moist. "I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings?" He asked her.

"No, Harry, continue."

"He had Death eaters, his followers." He told Burns.

"Yes, well, you killed You-Know-Who in May. It's late August now. A few days ago, his remaining Death Eaters tried to attack Hogwarts, where you defeated You-Know-Who. They were fended off fairly easily, due to their small numbers. During the fight, you were thrown from a staircase outside the Great Hall, landing on your head. It's a miracle you're even alive."

"Was anybody else hurt?"

"Other than a few bruises or cuts, no, nobody was even hospitalized."

"Well that's good." Harry nodded and returned to his book.

"Keep reading, Harry, it will help you a lot, I'm sure." Burns told him, still going through his book.

Eventually Nurse Hanley left, leaving Harry alone with Burns. Both men kept their eyes on their respective books, keeping to themselves. Harry's mind buzzed with the new-found information he was getting from the book. He had led an army of his schoolmates into battle when he was fifteen; it was incredible to him, yet he couldn't quite pull very much emotion out of the stories. He felt a slight tug at his heart when Sirius died, but he was merely remembering the fact that he had been upset over it at one point.

After over an hour, Harry looked up at Healer Burns. "Sir, can I look at myself?"

The healer looked up, his expression still lifeless. "Sure, it's natural to be curious." He stood up and went to Harry's bedside table. He pulled out a mirror, holding it up for Harry to gaze at his reflection.

His eyes were a vivid, emerald green, his skin fair and his hair jet black. He then realized that that small boy in the memory was him. He touched the thick, white bandaging that was wrapped around his head, tugging slightly at it before Burns pushed his hand away.

"There's a healing cream on your wound right now. You can take that off in about a week." He took the mirror away, but Harry could still see his reflection in his head, clear and vivid.

"Was I close to my family?"

Healer Burns sat down, shaking his head. "Your aunt and uncle? Not really. In the beginning you all had a deep hatred for each other, but the last time you saw them before you left for school, you all made a truce of some kind. This is all according to your book." He chuckled. "It's amazing what one interview can create. The interview happened two months ago. One month after it happened, there's a book. Your life is certainly something to be written about though."

He stood up and checked Harry's bandage once again. "Well, you need some sleep. You've just taken in about eighteen years in a matter of hours. Try and sleep through the night on your own, I'd rather not give you any potions while your mind is so unstable."

"All right." Harry removed one of the pillows from behind him and lied down obediently.

"Harry, I wouldn't consider the Dursleys your real family." Burns said quietly, leaning against the bed. "Remember that photo, Nurse Hanley showed you? Well, that's the Weasley family. Molly and Arthur are like your adoptive parents almost. They have six children, formerly seven before the Final Battle. Bill is the oldest and he is married to Fleur and works at the wizard bank, Gringotts. Then there's Charlie, who works with dragons in Romania. Percy isn't too popular, having abandoned the family when the world thought you crazy." Burns laughed slightly and Harry did too, remembering the book. "Then there are the twins, well were the twins. Fred died in battle, but George is still alive. They ran a joke shop together and now George handles it alone. Ron is your age and your best friend. He is dating Hermione Granger, your other best friend. You three were considered the Golden Trio, because you saved the wizarding world together. Lastly, is the only girl in the family, Ginny, I don't know much about your relationship, but you will find out in time.

"The Weasley's will be informed that you awake and well. I'd expect the entire crowd to be in here first thing in the morning. If Molly hugs you, crying, don't be scared, she tried to do the same to me when I told her you were going to be fine." He patted Harry on the arm and turned to leave.

"You haven't talked to your parents in years. You should call them. You're lucky to have them."

He froze his hand on the silver door handle. He glanced over his shoulder at Harry who was watching him.

"I just might do that. Good-night, Harry."

"Night Burns." Harry yawned, his mind still racing. He didn't know how he would ever be able to sleep, but the moment Burns turned the lights out, his eyes slid shut and he emerged into a deep sleep, filled with curious dreams about red-heads and motorcycles.


	2. Chapter 2

"I DON'T CARE IF HE'S SLEEPING! YOU TOLD ME HE HAD WOKEN UP AND THAT I COULD COME SEE HIM! NOW IF YOU DON'T LET ME IN THAT POOR BOY'S ROOM-"

Harry awoke to the sounds of screams and snickered at the power behind the women's voice. He sat up in bed, crossing his legs like a child does when they sit on the floor. He grinned when he saw Burns sitting in his chair.

"She's loud." He giggled.

Burns laughed slightly. "I believed we have hit the wonderful age of about six. You will be nothing but giggles and grins all day."

"Is she asking for me?" Excitement bubbled up inside, and his grin grew even wider.

"Yes."

"Then, let her in! I want to see who it is!"

"It's Molly Weasley. Remember what I told you about the Weasleys?"

"She's like my mum, right? Let her in!" He begged, his eyes full of innocence.

"In a minute." The healer stood up and fixed Harry's bandage, which had shifted slightly in sleep. He found himself grinning at the grown man, who had the spirit of any ordinary seven year old boy.

"I always kept something for my younger brother when he came to visit me. I grabbed it for you, knowing you'd be like this. There's no reason why you can't enjoy your childhood, even if you're really a grown man." He went to the dresser by the door and grabbed the large blue toy from its surface.

Harry's eyes went wide at it and Burns laughed. "It's muggle. It's a space ship type of thing. If you pull this little trigger it shoots foam darts." He handed the toy to Harry who awed at it and immediately began shooting darts and making crashing sounds with his mouth.

"I'll go let the Weasleys in. Oh, and if you get bored, check your bed stand." He told him, leaving the room.

Harry loved the toy, his excitement taking over his emotions. He was sad to discover that the foam darts had to be reloaded and he struggled to find them all, scattered across his white room. He crawled back into his sheets and began reloading the toy, dropping several as he attempted to push them in the small capsule designated for them. He sighed, agitated as he dropped one that fell down his white T-shirt and pale blue, cotton pants, landing right on his white sock. He laughed and quickly loaded the last dart in.

Several minutes passed by and Harry began to wonder what was taking Burns so long. Fighting his boredom, he put his toy in his lap and reached into the draw of his bed stand, remembering what Burns had said.

Inside he found a green, plastic, gun type of thing. He wondered what it was, but his childlike energy sent him to simply pull the trigger and see what happened. His mouth fell open as a blue, foam dart, similar to the ones that came from his spaceship, only far larger in size, shot from the gun.

"I'm gunna get Burns." He grinned mischievously. He pushed his spaceship to the end of the bed and held the gun tightly in his worn hands, waiting for the door to open. He was bouncing up and down in excitement as he waited, growing more and more impatient with each passing second.

He heard feet approaching the door and he could hear voices, only able to identify Burns'. "I'm warning you that in his mind he's six years old. And ignore this, it's just a toy."

The door opened and Harry roared, firing the gun as Burns stepped inside with a gun of his own, firing purple foam darts at Harry. Harry stood up on his bed and continued shooting, laughing madly and completely ignoring the crowd of people gathered outside the door, looking on with curious eyes.

Harry ran out of darts first and ducked beneath his pillow while Burns used his remaining ammunition. "I surrender!" Harry laughed, his voice muffled by the pillow.

Once the shower of darts ceased, he dropped the pillow, falling back in his bed and giggling. Burns placed his gun on bed beside Harry's and handed the grinning man the spaceship.

The crowd of people moved into the room, watching Harry with curious eyes as he played with the spaceship. They looked very similar to the photo Nurse Hanley had shown him and the girl was the first that pulled his attention away from the toy.

"Hi, I'm Harry! You're really pretty!" He gushed, moving towards the end of the bed to stare at her. She laughed softly, as did the brunette beside her.

"As you can tell, he has memory loss." Burns smiled. "Yesterday, he was very quiet and reserved, just confused by everything. I went over the basis of his life and had him read that biography. Right now he's a bashful, giggling, energy-filled six year old. Hence the toys I have for him. He might as well enjoy himself. Not many people get to relive their childhoods."

Harry picked up his spaceship and fired several darts at one of the men, adding in sound effects. "Fire!" the dart hit the man right in the head.

"Ow!"

The red-head beside him began to laugh. "I dunno, I kinda like this Harry. He's loads of fun. Can we keep him this way?"

"George!" The mother hissed.

Harry turned and looked at her and her husband, Arthur. "Are you my Mum and Dad?"

The room was dead silent and the two parents' eyes grew moist. A few tears escaped Molly and Harry immediately shook his head. "I mean, like my Mum and Dad. I know my real ones died when I was really little, but…" He smiled bashfully, and didn't wait for an answer. He turned back to his toy and began making the crashing sounds again.

"Why don't you all introduce yourselves?" Burns took the toy from Harry so he would focus and had the family line up.

"I'm Molly and this is Arthur." Molly pointed to her husband, who had an arm around his wife.

"I'm Bill and this Fleur, you went to our wedding." Bill laughed. He had a ponytail and a single earring, with a fang on it. He stood next to a woman with beautiful blond hair.

"You're pretty." Harry told her, making her blush and giggle.

"I'm pretty too, Harry, you just don't remember. I'm George, by the way." The next man grinned.

"I'm your best mate Ron." Ron smiled, putting an arm around the brunette beside him.

"I'm Hermione Granger."

_He was walking in a crowd of kids his age, about eleven. An eleven year old Ron walked beside him and scowled at the bushy-haired girl in front of them. "She's so annoying, little miss know-it-all." He groaned. "Don't know how I'll ever deal with her. Even the great Ron Weasley can't get along with a walking book."_

Burns was in front of him again, shining the light in his eyes. "Know-it-all. Even the great Ron Weasley can't get along with a walking book."

"I think that's from first year." He heard Ron mutter.

"Don't worry. He has memory flashes sometimes. It's a good thing, it means everything should come back to him, it'll just take time." Burns stepped away to let them continue.

"I'm Hermione." She said slowly.

"You're pretty, Hermione." Everyone laughed slightly at the youthful comment and the last person came. It was the red-headed girl.

"Wow! You're really, really pretty!" He gasped, moving as close to her as his shyness allowed. She giggled.

"I'm Ginny."

"I'm Harry." He grinned, all his teeth showing. "Wanna play with me?"

George snorted, earning him a slap from his mother, followed by two more, from Hermione and Bill even.

"Sure, Harry." She sat down on the bed and let him tell her about the spaceship saving the universe and how it was going to happen.

"He doesn't need his glasses?" Molly asked.

"The optic nerve was affected by the fall, correcting his vision." Burns told them.

"How long until he…grows up?" Arthur looked down at Harry, who noticed and smiled back at the older man.

"Who knows? It only took him a day to reach this mark, which is incredible. But he could get stuck at a certain age for a while. I would expect him to reach his proper age again within six months to a year, possibly longer if he gets stuck too many times."

"A year?" Hermione gasped.

"I want to keep him here until he grows up a bit. Maybe around his tenth birthday." He chuckled. "If it takes too long though, I'd like to watch over him in my own home. It'd be better than the hospital and I could still give him the round-the-clock attention he needs."

"We could take him." Molly offered, no requested.

"No, this is a very rare amnesia. Not that I don't find you fully qualified, I want to see to Harry's growth myself."

"All right." Harry noticed Molly seemed upset by the rejection. He looked up her and grinned.

"But, Burns will let me visit when I'm better, right Burns?" He turned to the healer who nodded.

"See! I can come visit." He gushed.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to limit you all to one person for now. Harry's mind is very tender and I'm worried about him having _too much_ attention."

"Aw." Harry moaned, disappointed. Then his frown turned into a grin and sat up on his knees. "Can Ginny stay? Please! She's lots of fun!" He began bouncing up and down.

Burns chuckled. "He's got a crush on the 'babysitter' so to speak. If it is all right with Ginny, then it is all right with me."

"Will you, Ginny? Please!" He grabbed her hand, shaking it.

"Sure, Harry." She giggled.

"I'd like to explain Harry's case with you further, if you don't mind." Burns gestured to the door and everybody began to file out.

"Keep an eye on him, please Ginny."

"Yes, Sir."

Burns nodded before closing the door, leaving Harry with the pretty red-head. He stopped playing and looked up her with wide eyes.

"You're soooooo pretty." He whispered, gazing at her brown eyes. He really hadn't seen a woman quite so pretty before. But he had only seen Nurse Hanley and the few women he had just met. Ginny smiled at him.

"Thank you, Harry."

He grinned, lying down. He propped up his pillows so he could still look at her. "It's kinda weird." He told her.

"What is?"

"I'm eighteen apparently." He shrugged, picking up the spaceship.

"Yes, you are."

"And I did a lot of cool things, according to that book."

"You did lots of amazing things."

"You're so pretty." He sighed, melting into his pillow.

"I would have thought you would have gone for Fleur." She laughed; he loved her laugh.

"Why?" He wrinkled her nose.

"She's part veela. A veela has a sort of pull on all men."

"She was pretty, but so was Hermione. You're super pretty."

"You're not too bad yourself." She winked, making him blush.

"Were you and I friends?"

"Very good friends." She told him, smiling.

"That's good. I wonder if I ever made you my girlfriend. Don't tell me yet, I want it to be a surprise. I think I do…I better have made you my girlfriend, you're too pretty not to be."

"Well, I'll keep it a surprise for you."

"Good, it'll be a great surprise."

She reached out and took his hand…

"_Harry, where are you taking me?" Her laugh was like velvet, soft and smooth, vibrating through the air._

"_Love, if I tell you, it would destroy the surprise and we don't want that now do we?" He kept his hands firmly over her eyes and he laughed to himself as he steered her through the night air. He led her towards the still lake._

"_Here we are." He breathed, pressing his lips to her neck. He planted a trail of kisses all the way along her neck, to her ear._

"_Mmm…" She sighed contently. "I wish we didn't have to keep this a secret still."_

"_I know, but we need take care of everything else first. Then, we'll have the energy to deal with the reporters. Now, let me show you where you are." Harry removed his hands and she laughed._

"_I should have known."_

"_You should have. How many places do I take you as a surprise?"_

"_Quite a few." Ginny giggled, sitting down beside the water's edge. _

_He sank down beside her, pulling her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and breathed in her scent as they watched the water lilies float along the water's surface, reflecting in the moonlight._

"_I love you." He rested his chin on her shoulder and nuzzled deeper into her neck, pressing kisses to her soft skin._

"_I love you too." She turned her body around in his lap and kissed him, her fingers grasping locks of hi messy hair, while his hands rang up and down his back. He pulled her down with him, so they were lying on the ground together, locked in the kiss, neither one of them wanting to break it._

"_This is perfect." She breathed after they pulled their lips apart._

"_It will be even more perfect in a few years." He grinned._

"_Why?"_

"_Because, my wonderful fiancé, we will be married by then." He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear._

"_Only because I said yes." She teased._

_Harry chuckled. "Only because I asked. I just can't wait to give you the ring." He leaned his head upward and kissed her chin, moving along her neck._

"_I can't wait either." _

_They sat up and stared out across the still water. Harry began humming softly in her ear; it was a sweet love song he'd heard in muggle London. _

_Smiling he began to change the lyrics. "And water lilies on the lake…you're in my arms and it's not too late…Baby, I'm yours…"_

***

"Healer Burns, Harry's having another memory flash." The girl was quiet, but didn't seem fearful, so Burns knew it truly was just another flash.

"He's fine then. Excuse me." He smiled at the Weasleys, who didn't seem at all phased by it. He walked alongside Ginny to Harry's room where he was in the familiar state. He was still sitting up, eyes open, but his mouth hung open slightly and his eyes had a cloudy look as he relived a memory.

He lit his wand and shined it in his eyes, still unsure of why Harry's eyes grew so foggy during his memory flashes.

The fog slowly began to fade out and he knew Harry would return, immediately saying a part of his relived memory.

"And water lilies on the water…you're in my arms, and it's not too late…Baby, I'm yours…"

Ginny covered her mouth as Harry sang the short few lines. He came out of the memory and directed his attention to his toy, his mind still feeling six years old.

"Ginny, could I see you outside?" Burns walked outside, processing what had just happened.

Ginny closed Harry's door and followed Burns down the hall to his office. He knew the memory Harry had just relived, at least he knew it was about Ginny.

"Describe the relationship you had with Harry, Ginny." He sat down beside her desk and smiled softly at the young woman in front of his desk.

She sighed, sitting down in the brown leather armchair, gripping the arms. "We were engaged."

Burns' eyes went wide. "Obviously it was a secret."

"My family doesn't even know we even dated. It was during his sixth year for a couple of months. Then he ended it before he went off to fight Voldemort, saying he was protecting me. After the Final Battle, we picked things back up in secret, only telling a few of our friends, not my family. He proposed to me about a month ago. He said he couldn't wait until he had the ring, he had to ask me right then." She smiled. "He said he had one picked out in a muggle jewelry store, but I don't know which, and it looks like it will be a long time before I ever get it."

"You're going back to school this year, right?" He asked quietly, playing with the soft tennis ball he kept on his desk to relieve stress.

"We had planned to make us public right before I went back and then he was going to sneak into the castle when Hogsmeade weekends weren't enough."

"This is going to get awkward, but I need to know everything about Harry. How, er, close were you two?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "_It_ first happened the night after the Final Battle. I know you won't be telling my family, so…"

"I figured. He could only have told me the last time I'd had sex if he had had it too at some point."

"What?"

"Harry's amnesia makes him highly observant. He probably knew that you were his fiancé when you walked into the room, but his mind is so muddled by being a six year old, that he had no way of expressing himself. It also makes it harder because he technically didn't know who you were, just that you were a very important person for him." Burns continued to rub the green ball, his mind still racing.

"So, he still has his memories?"

"Technically, yes, they're just lost. It's like the part of the brain that holds memories is like a giant filing room. The workers are on strike and the memories aren't being filed properly, so he has no recollection of anything."

Ginny sighed."I wish I could be here, but he wouldn't want me to share our relationship without him."

"Go to school, Ginny. Enjoy your last year at Hogwarts. Harry would want you too. He'll be here for you when you get back."

"Thank you, Healer Burns."

"You can just call me Burns if you want. Harry calls me that."

"He's like a little brother for you, isn't he?"

"I haven't seen my own little brother for almost two years. He's nearly nine now. Harry could be my little brother even if he was acting eighteen, but still, it brightens this dull place up like you wouldn't believe."

"I should get going. Thanks for everything. I'll be back with my family whenever you let us, but I leave on the first, so there's not much time for me."

"I'll write you updates."

"Thanks." She shook his hand and they left, bringing the family back into Harry's room to say their good-byes.

Nurse Hanley had just finished dressing Harry's head wound with a fresh bandage with Burns arrived with the family. Harry was licking his lips, excited by all of the extra attention.

"Say good-bye, Harry, they'll be able to visit in a few days." He added, seeing his disappointment.

"Bye!" He waved at them all and allowed Mrs. Weasley and Hermione to hug him.

"Bye, Ginny! Come and see me soon! Burns said he was bringing me more toys later!" Ginny laughed, waving at Harry.

Burns led the family out of Harry's room and walked them down to the lobby. "I'm being very cautious about Harry's situation. I don't want too much of his past to come back at once. With the life he's led it could be devastating. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to limit your visits. You can come back every two days for now and only for one hour. I'll see you on Thursday and on Sunday." He nodded curtly before going back to Harry's room.

Harry was sitting on the bed, poking at the food Nurse Hanley had brought him. He looked up at Burns with disgust. "I don't like this."

"I already ordered a pizza." Burns laughed. "I actually need to go and pick it up. I'll be back in ten minutes. It's just down the street."

Harry's face lit up and Burns ruffle his hair before leaving the boy once again. He was growing attached to Harry and knew that his speedy recovery would not continue like this. He was going to get stuck. Burns felt guilty having told the Weasleys that it would take six months to a year. It could take Harry years and years to fully recover his memory, but he was being hopeful.

Once in his office, he took off his robes, revealing his jeans and T-shirt. He could blend in like any other twenty-three year old the street. He sighed, his thoughts still on Harry. He couldn't let the Weasleys take him, as much as it pained him to say it. They would keep him on a tight leash until he had recalled every single memory and Burns didn't want that for Harry.

He wanted him to reach his teen years and then have the fun he never got to have. He wanted him to experience what Burns had experienced as muggle-born. During the summers away from Hogwarts he was getting in trouble for staying out all night and crashing his car and under aged drinking. He didn't want Harry to have quite as much fun as he did, but still…

"He's going home with me in one month." Burns decided to himself as he walked through London. "He will grow up and become Harry once again. I'll make sure of it."


	3. Chapter 3

"Burns? Burns…Yo Dawson!"

Burns jumped in his chair, waking up to find a familiar man standing above him. He stared at the healer with a very unhappy look on his face.

"Harry…" Burns growled.

"I'm bored!"

"I liked you better when you were six." Burns snapped, looking down at the paperwork he had fallen asleep over.

"Well, now I'm ten."

"I noticed."

"When can I get out of here, it's been over a month?" Harry whined.

"I want to wait until you were older, but I'll consider letting you leave soon. You do realize you'd just be coming to live with me?"

"Duh. Do I look stupid to you, Dawson?" Burns rolled his eyes at the use of his first name.

"Well, right now, I'm dealing with your finances which are rather large for an eighteen year old." Burns laughed, looking over the statements from Gringotts. Harry had accumulated millions in his inheritance. He could spend a thousand dollars a week until he died and there would still be plenty of money left over.

"I thought you lived like a muggle?"

"I do, but your money is wizarding. I'm going to meticulously convert the galleons to pounds and put them in a muggle bank account. This way you can buy things every teenager needs. Such as clothes." Harry glanced down at the baby blue pants and white T-shirt the hospital supplied him with. He hadn't worn anything else; he just kept changing into identical, clean sets.

"I miss Ginny. She was lots of fun. I wonder if she's hot still." He said thoughtfully.

"You were stuck at age six for three weeks and then you go from age nine to ten in a matter of days. And now I think you're twelve." Burns sighed.

Harry shrugged. "I don't control _Pueritia Memoria. _It controls me."

"Yes, well, you don't know everything about your life yet."

"Ron and Hermione are my best friends. I saved the wizarding world, blah blah blah, who cares?" Harry rolled his eyes, looking at Burns.

"Every magical person in Europe. Now Bill is handling the majority of your finances personally and is helping me exchange the money and falsifying checks and things, so the money can be transferred faster. Once you hit a more appropriate age, let's say fourteen, then I'll give you more control over your money."

"Hey, since I'm eighteen, I can get a driver's license."

"No, you can't." Burns shot him a look. "Not yet, at least."

"Hey, you said you were having me grow up like a muggle!"

"I am. The Weasleys are not pleased with me, except for Ginny. She seems to be the only one on my side."

"It's 'cause she loves me." Harry bragged, his twelve year old attitude shining.

"You will get slapped by so many girls." Burns shook his head, keeping his eyes on the rolls of parchment in front of him. "I'll talk to the Head Healer and have her sign off on your release. We also have to move quickly after that. Once that paper's signed we need to get you out of here before the press catches wind that you're being released."

"I could take them. Have you seen these muscles? Fighting bad guys sure does wonders." He raised his arms, flexing his muscles.

Burns snorted; they were bigger than the average eighteen year old, but they were nothing special. "Come on, I'm going to go talk the Head Healer."

"I'll go chill with Judy with you." Harry got off Burns' desk where he had perched himself and followed the man down the corridor, waving to everybody that passed him by.

"What up, Kevin?" Harry bumped fists with the fifteen year old American who was being treated for an unknown poison.

"I got this sick new game, you gotta come see it, bro, it's beastin'."

"I promise, but I'm getting out of here soon."

"Lucky."

"See you, man."

"Yeah, see ya."

Burns dragged him down around the corner, trying to keep Harry on track, which was difficult. Harry had befriended every person in the hospital during his stay. He called the majority of the nurses and healers by their first names and received the most special attention Burns had ever seen.

The women adored him, constantly bringing him food and gifts. They always let him hang around the nurses' station and listen to their gossip, which Harry relayed to Burns. The healer had never known just how many of the nurses' were…involved, with healers.

The male healers constantly brought Harry comics and kept him up to date with the Quidditch rankings. The muggle-born ones brought Harry into their sports, such as basketball and football, teaching Harry everything about the games.

In the course of one month, the entire staff had pooled their knowledge and given it to Harry, who absorbed it like Burns had never expected. He could describe almost perfectly the professional Quidditch rankings in the last five years, along with the rankings of football and basketball teams. He could tell you how to build the engine of a Mustang and how to navigate the English Channel in a boat. He knew enough about potions and spell work to ace his NEWTs easily. He could describe the lives of every character in Nurse Hanley's favorite radio soap opera, much to Burns' amusement.

But his memory was not returning to him.

He had banned the Weasleys from any annual visits after Harry had a frightful memory flash of the Final Battle. Burns knew he had to be delicate when it came to letting Harry remember his life. If he didn't grow and mature before he remembered all of the horrible things he had gone through, he could reject it entirely and run away from his past.

They finally made it to the familiar white door that read 'Healer Judy Ferral'. He knocked once before entering the room.

She was at her desk, going through paperwork, her long blonde hair, dotted with the occasional gray hair, grazed the surface of the desk and her eyes had a few wrinkles around them. She had been running the department for nearly ten and Burns was working his way up to her job.

"Judy!" Harry grinned.

"Hello, Harry. Healer Burns, what can I do for you too?" She dropped her quill and looked up them both, her eyes darting from the serious healer to the gleeful eighteen year old who had taken to gazing at the moving photographs on the walls.

"Remember what we had discussed about Harry the other day?"

"Of course. You want to make him an out-patient and watch over him in your own home." She was a strict boss and kept the entire floor in line, not missing a beat.

"Harry's physically fine and I'd put him at about twelve years old now. He's almost hit the mark of a teenager, and is growing restless being here. He hasn't seen the light of day in months and he doesn't even remember the light of day." Burns presented himself confidently, knowing Ferral would not release Harry easily.

"Are you sure you're ready to do this, Burns?"

"Ferral, I'm positive. Harry deserves to grow up without the looming threat of death hanging above him. I want him to be able to make the same stupid decisions I made as a teenager. I'm keeping him in the muggle world so he won't be pestered by reporters and he should be overall safer away from magic."

Ferral studied him for a moment before reaching out her hand. "You better not screw up, Burns. If this goes well, however, consider yourself in the running for when I retire in the next few years." She signed the paper, smiling.

"Thank you, Judy."

"Yeah thanks a lot, Judy." Harry grinned at the woman who laughed under her breath.

"Come on Harry, I have some clothes of mine that should fit you all right until we can buy you some of your own." Burns opened the door and Harry waved at Judy.

"I'll come and visit, Judy."

"All right, Harry." The healer smiled as Harry followed his now guardian into the corridor.

***

Walking alongside Burns, Harry considered the dreams he'd been having lately. He told many of them to Nurse Hanley who would tell him he's dreaming about his past and that most of them really happened at one point in his life.

They were filled with dragons and snakes and his friends. He knew they were his friends because Ron and Hermione had brought him photos from when he had gone to Hogwarts. He knew he was supposed to grow up all over again, but wasn't he supposed to be remembering more of his life?

"Dawson, how come I'm aging, but I'm not remembering?"

Burns looked at Harry. "I believe that in your case, you're purposefully blocking out your memories. Self-consciously, of course."

"Why wouldn't I want to remember?"

"You've seen a lot of cruel things, Harry, and I think that once you finally become eighteen again, you will be able to remember everything. This worries me, because I don't want the floodgates opened like that. I want you to remember everything very gradually."

"Oh, well, can I go home now?" He spoke quietly and kept his eyes on the ground, feeling as though he had gone backwards again and was a shy toddler.

"Come on, Harry." He patted his back and led him back to office to collect the clothes he had spared for him.

***

"Burns, where's my razor? Harry called from the bathroom.

"Under the sink."

"Thanks." He found the razor and shaved swiftly, excited for today. According to Burns, he was fifteen years old. And Dawson was letting him get a driver's license today.

He could pretty much build a car, thanks to everything he learned in St. Mungo's. Burns had been reluctant to let him get one, but decided to make it an early Christmas present for Harry.

Harry had been living with Burns for almost two months now and he loved it there. He still didn't remember very much, random memories seeping into his dreams, but that was it. He hadn't given much thought to life away from Burns; it wasn't necessary. He had an incredible life with Burns, who had grown to be more than just Harry's healer. He was like an older brother.

"Harry, you about ready for your visit out in the world?" He heard Burns yell from the other side of the door.

His face lit up at the thought. He had only left the flat a few times, always kept at Burns' side. He had gone shopping for clothes, receiving a bountiful amount of attention from the female workers who seemed to find Harry's shyness and lack of fashion adorable.

Another trip outside was to see a film, something that fascinated Harry. He got a huge drink and popcorn and all kinds of candy he had never heard of. Burns had even snuck in a few boxes of wizarding candy that held more wild flavors.

Nurse Hanley came to spend time with Harry when Burns went to the hospital for short shifts, mostly at odd hours, ranging from the middle of the night to outrageously early. Harry enjoyed his visits with Beverley, as he had begun to call her, but it wasn't enough. He wanted more than his healer and nurse. He wanted to live.

Harry slipped out of the bathroom and went to his room. Burns had made it easily re-arranged if needed. It had to be because Harry's mind aged five years in a matter of months. He had a large queen sized bed and a large corner desk, decked out with computers and the highest quality of muggle electronics. He a large, flat screen television mounted on the wall and surround sound speakers were hidden in every top corner of the large room. It was the perfect room for any teenage boy.

Harry pulled out a pair of jeans from his closet and found clean boxer shorts in his draw. Pulling them on, he turned on the stereo, the loud rock blaring through the speakers. He pulled on a white undershirt and found a belt for his sagging jeans.

"I'll be there when your heart stops beating. I'll be there when your last breath's taken away." He sang along to the song and picked out a watch and a pair of sunglasses. He had escaped from Burns on their very first shopping trip together and had spent several thousand pounds on dozens of sunglasses in every shape and color. He had also bought himself two watches; one was made of a shining silver with emeralds covering the face, the other one was made up of a high end silver and steel blend, taking away the fierce shine, the face however sparkled brighter than the other, covered with almost a hundred small diamonds. He snapped on the diamond one and buttoned up his shirt.

He grabbed his white sunglasses, even though it was snowing outside, and turned off his stereo. Grabbing is coat he walked into the hallway.

Burns was standing in the kitchen, a very large, modern muggle kitchen with steel appliances and dark, wood cabinets. He had cut his hair from what Harry could tell, and he seemed more put together than usual.

"What's the occasion?" Harry asked, swiping up several peanuts from the dish on the counter as he hopped up on the granite top, watching his friend.

"I talked to Bill Weasley the other day." Dawson dodged the question.

"Oh, I like Bill, he seems pretty nice."

"Yes, well, apparently the family is not happy with the fact that they haven't seen you in nearly two months. You were very close to them, Harry." He glanced up at Harry who shrugged.

"I don't remember them at all. I feel bad that I don't, but I don't really remember anything at all. The only memories I have of them are from the memory flashes from their visits. That's how I know I was with Ginny and was really good friends with Ron and Hermione. But I still don't know them."

"I think that's my fault. You should have a better relationship with them, they're your family." Burns crossed his arms, looking at Harry sadly.

"Dawson, you're like a brother to me. I don't know anything outside these walls except for St. Mungo's."

"It's because I wanted to keep you in a muggle environment, so it would be easier on you." He sighed, scratching his head. Suddenly he looked up, snapping his fingers. "I know how to retrieve part of your memory and you can leave the flat anytime you want."

Harry waved his hand, nodding. "Continue."

"The Dursleys."

"What?" Harry squawked. "Everyone's been telling me they're horrible."

"No, well, yes, but Dudley has come a long way apparently. I've been looking into them for a while now. I'm calling them tonight when we get home." With that he walked to the door.

"Happy Christmas, Harry, you get to see your bloody awful family." Harry groaned, following the man who merely chuckled.

They walked through the snow, talking casually while Harry took in everything. He loved his rare visits outside and tried to absorb every detail about London. He always drew the eye of the occasional woman passing him by and he always smirked, throwing them a wink if they were pretty.

"You and women, honestly." Burns scoffed as they walked to the train station.

"It's my amazing eyes and perfectly messy hair." Harry smirked. "I'm glad I got that haircut, the ladies seem to like it better." He ran a hand through his shorter hair that barely grazed the tips of his ears and exposed his scar.

"They even find the scar attractive, like I'm tough or something."

"According to your friends, you always hated having people looking at it."

"I don't remember my life, so it doesn't exactly matter, now does it?" Harry pointed out.

"True."

Harry sighed as they stepped on the train to travel across London to the agency. He was eager to get the license, knowing Burns would finally ease up on him and let him leave the house. But he was unsure about the Dursleys, but if they were rude he could leave, he was eighteen after all.

***

"What do you think?" Harry grinned, holding the piece of plastic up to his face.

"Wonderful." Burns chuckled.

"So does this mean I get to be a stupid teenager now?"

"I believe it does." Burns squeezed Harry's shoulder, smiling. "We'll get you a car."

"I was thinking more along the lines of a motorcycle, like the new racing bikes."

"I'll consider, but for now, I want to see you in a car."

"Mustang."

"Deal."

They made it back to the flat and Harry glanced over his shoulder before walking into the building, a sad look on his face; he wanted to be outside more.

"Hey, Burns, I kinda had…erm, an odd dream last night." Harry started.

They were both laying around on the couch, watching the telly. Burns looked away from the screen and stared at harry, worried it had been a painful memory flash. He could tell in Harry's eyes it most likely was.

"Memory flash?"

"All my dreams are, Dawson. It was about Ginny." He sighed. "I'm not entirely sure this one was a memory, though. If it was, though…wow..." He shook his head, a dreamy expression gracing his face.

"Aw, none of that teenage stuff." Burns wrinkled his nose.

"Hey, you're twenty-three years old, it's not like this was that long ago for you."

"Yeah, but, trust me, you'll feel differently when you are my age. You'll feel differently when you are your own age."

"Hey, Burns, when will I remember everything?" Harry stared up at the ceiling.

"If I'm right, when you finally reach eighteen or nineteen by then."

"I wish I could remember now."

Burns sighed, looking down at Harry. He didn't like seeing him so lost and confused. It was though he just woken up again after the fall. It still amazed him that he could survive falling like that; it had to have been over two stories. He sat up, yawning.

"I'm going to go over a little paperwork, then go to bed. You crashing soon?"

Harry shrugged. "I think I might work out a little, maybe play some video games, I really don't know."

"Well, goodnight. And make sure you turn the back light off in the gym, you always leave it on."

"'K."

Burns walked to his room, a few doors down from Harry's. He sighed and walked over to his messy desk, covered in paperwork, most of which regarding Harry. He had to jump through so many hoops to have authorization for Harry to live with him, but luckily Harry had been friends with Minister, who helped Dawson Burns as best as he could.

He glanced at his calendar and realized he hadn't written to Ginny this week, or last. He knew she must be going mad being away at school while her secret fiancé didn't even truly know who he was. Grabbing a pen and paper he quickly wrote out the concerns that had been pestering him lately.

_Ginny,_

_Harry has been doing fairly well. He just got a driver's license today, seeing as I put him around fifteen at this point. Right now we're battling over him getting a motorcycle. This I'd love to hear your opinions on. He's sadly not remembering much of anything, with exceptions of his dreams. I'm having him record them all in a journal so he'll never be able to forget them. Last night he told he had dreamed about you. He seemed very pleased and content by it. Most of his dreams leave him empty and confused. I think I want to try and control what he dreams. Can you and Hermione tell me if there are things I can have him do to trigger a certain happy memory in his dreams? A song from a party, or a particular scent, anything that you think would be helpful. _

_With Regards, _

_Dawson E. Burns_

_P.S. He keeps singing every song he hears, and is actually quite good, was this ever a hobby of his, did he sing in the shower even? I sound ridiculous, but I'm desperate for ways to help him progress. And ways to make him want to progress._

He finished, sealing the letter. He could hear the hum of the treadmill in their home gym and knew it was Harry, who had taken a liking to it when he went through a 'I must grow and be strong' phase. Burns walked to the open window and let out a low whistle. Moments later, a familiar barn owl appeared on the sill, sticking its leg out for a letter.

"Take it to Ginny, Shakespeare."

The bird hooted in response and Burns closed the window, knowing Shakespeare would stay at Hogwarts for a day or two. He crawled into bed, not bothering to change out of his clothes. He lay awake for some time, contemplating what to do for Harry. He knew virtually nothing about his life before, so he was going off the cuff and basing his ideas on his own teen years.

"Maybe I should get him a piano or a guitar. He's got a pretty good voice."

He decided to wait for Ginny's response before he made any major decisions on Harry. She was after all Harry's fiancé, even if Harry did not remember it. He was taking Harry to the Dursleys' in the morning, even though he had received no answer when he called them. He couldn't think of any other ways to help him. Slowly he fell asleep, wishing for an answer for Harry.


	4. Chapter 4

Snow had fallen evenly across the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The gamekeeper, Hagrid, was busy rounding up large Christmas Trees to decorate the school with and children were seen having snow ball fights between classes and enjoying sleigh rides.

Ginny Weasley was sitting in the only dry patch untouched by snow, beneath the willow by the now frozen lake. She was finishing her paper for DADA in an hour and was finding it rather boring since it was one of the many things Harry had taught her in her fourth year. Her spirits were lifted when a familiar barn owl landed beside her.

"Hello, Shakespeare, what does the healer have to say?" She took the letter from the bird's leg and unrolled it.

_Ginny,_

_Harry has been doing fairly well. He just got a driver's license today, seeing as I put him around fifteen at this point. Right now we're battling over him getting a motorcycle. This I'd love to hear your opinions on. He's sadly not remembering much of anything, with exceptions of his dreams. I'm having him record them all in a journal so he'll never be able to forget them. Last night he told he had dreamed about you. He seemed very pleased and content by it. Most of his dreams leave him empty and confused. I think I want to try and control what he dreams. Can you and Hermione tell me if there are things I can have him do to trigger a certain happy memory in his dreams? A song from a party, or a particular scent, anything that you think would be helpful. _

_With Regards, _

_Dawson E. Burns_

_P.S. He keeps singing every song he hears, and is actually quite good, was this ever a hobby of his, did he sing in the shower even? I sound ridiculous, but I'm desperate for ways to help him progress. And ways to make him want to progress._

She didn't remember Harry ever singing, but this wasn't really her Harry, it was who he would have been if he wasn't a wizard having to defeat Voldemort. She smiled at the thought that he had been dreaming about her, there was still something there in his mind. He was fifteen, according to Burns. Ginny wrinkled her nose thinking about when Harry had really been fifteen, kissing Cho Chang and being an overall angry person.

She gathered her things, patting Shakespeare gently and she made her way to the castle. Hermione had returned to complete her seventh year with Ginny and Luna and Ginny knew she would have plenty of opinions for Burns.

She found Hermione in the Gryffindor common room and was pleased to find Luna sitting beside her. Ginny grinned at her two friends and sat down beside them.

"Luna, does everyone just give you the password now?"

"Pretty much." She nodded.

"Anyways, Burns wrote me an update finally."

Hermione's head shot up. "How's the Pueritia Memoria?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry's fine. He's fifteen actually. Burns had mentioned in his last letter that he was constantly staring at girls on the telly and he was beginning to grow concerned about the internet or whatever it's called."

"Doesn't that bother you?" Hermione asked.

"Why should it? He doesn't remember anything, so he doesn't remember that he's a taken man." Luna said dreamily.

"Exactly. He got a driver's license and is talking Burns into getting a motorcycle for him."

"Those are too dangerous!" Hermione scowled. "How dare he even consider it?"

"I don't see why not. He survived falling off a second story banister." Ginny pointed out. "Besides, there are more important things to consider right now. Burns wants our help. He says he wants Harry to remember the happy and the bad, but he's only dreaming about the bad mostly." Ginny grimaced. "So, he wants me to tell him about any scents or songs, or anything that would trigger a happy memory. Apparently the flashes only come as dreams now that he's banned my family from visiting. Bill told me he's the only one that has contact with Burns and it's because of his position with Gringotts for Harry's finances."

"Well, I can't really think of anything, other than treacle tart and broomsticks." Hermione cracked a small smile.

"Butter beer might make him remember trips to Hogsmeade." Luna suggested.

"That's a good idea." Hermione nodded.

Ginny pulled out a quill and a fresh piece of parchment, writing down their ideas in a short letter for Burns.

"Thanks guys, I'm going to run this to the owlery before class." Not giving them a chance to speak, she sped away, clutching the letter.

She found Shakespeare and read over her letter again.

***

_Burns,_

_First, thank you for updating me on my fiancé. I know he doesn't remember, but it has a ring to it, don't you agree? Anyways, the motorcycle sounds fine. His godfather actually had one and Harry was delivered to the Dursleys on it when he was a baby. As for the singing, no he didn't sing as far as I know, but I have no problems with you pushing it as a hobby for him. It might actually be a good distraction for him. Butter beer, broomsticks, treacle tart and water lilies. There is a song, the one he began singing at St. Mungo's during my first visit? He never told me the name of it, but it meant a lot to both of us._

_Hope this helps,_

_Ginny Weasley_

"Hey, Harry?" Burns dropped the letter on his desk and went into Harry's room, where he was shouting at the racing game he was absorbed in.

"Harry!" Burns stepped in front of the television and Harry immediately paused the game.

"What?"

"We're going on a little trip Friday."

"Sounds good, where?"

"Hogsmeade."

"That village by my school?"

"Yeah, I thought you'd like to see it and get a butter beer. Then I'm hoping to take you up to Hogwarts."

"Okay, can you move now?"

Burns sighed, but stepped aside, allowing Harry to continue playing his game. He smirked as he thought of idea.

"Well, I had plans for today, but since you're so into your game I guess we won't do it."

"'Kay."

"Maybe we'll get the Mustang and the motorcycle some other time." He turned to leave when he heard the loud sound of the car on the game crashing.

"Let's go!" Harry turned off the game and began pushing Burns out the door.

He laughed, walking on his own. "All right, grab your coat."

***

"It's beautiful, Burns." Harry pressed his cheek to the flaming red convertible. He rubbed its shining surface as if it was a holy temple.

The fat man beside Burns chuckled, his belly jiggling. He had on an expensive suit and presented himself, saying he had worked for the dealership for twenty years.

The moment Harry had seen the brand new car he knew it was the one. The gleaming red paint job was Harry's favorite color and he sighed as he stared at his reflection.

"Your friend seems to really like it." The salesmen continued chuckling, his stomach still bobbing up and down.

"My little brother has a bit of a soft spot for red Mustangs."

"How old is he, twenty?"

"Eighteen, but let's just say he hasn't quite hit that mark on the maturity scale."

"Eh, he's a teenager still. Probably wasn't too long ago that you were too."

"Yeah, Dawson, get over it, I'm a teenager." Harry laughed, jumping into the front seat of the car, gripping the steering wheel firmly.

"How much we talking?" Burns turned to the man who scribbled down a number on a piece of paper he pulled from his pocket. He handed it to Dawson, who nodded.

"That's the premium package. Top of the line everything and a ten-year warranty. Anything that breaks we fix it. This doesn't include any wild rides resulting in a teenager crashing it into a tree." He pointed to Harry, and Burns eyed him curiously.

"I got a son who crashed his own Mustang when he was 'bout his age."

"Oh. Well, we'll take it. Can we take it right now?"

"Sure!" The salesman grinned. "Let's sign the papers."

Burns snapped his fingers and Harry immediately followed them into a small, square office. Burns co-signed the papers, saying it was more credible or something; Harry wasn't paying much attention. Then the salesman handed Harry a file of paperwork and a key to his new car.

"Burns, you are the best brother ever." Harry thanked his friend, who merely smiled and nodded.

The salesman led them to the garage in the back and pointed out the car that was ready to go. They had taken a train and walked to the dealership, so they didn't have to be worried about Burns' car. Harry slid into the driver's seat and Dawson wearily sat down in seat beside him.

"Do you not trust me as a driver, Dawson?"

"Harry, I've never even seen you _in_ a bloody car, let alone driving it." Burns buckled his seat belt and Harry smirked, putting on his aviator sunglasses.

"Let's ride." He let out a whoop of joy before ripping out of the parking lot.

They drove down the street, Harry laughing silently as Burns watched the cold, wet roads as though he was fearful of his life.

They hit a red light and Harry smirked at a few girls on the sidewalk who were admiring him and his convertible that did not fit the slushy weather at all. Burns rolled his eyes, even though the girls were looking at him as well.

"It feels good to be out and about, Dawson, you should try it more often."

"Just make a left here."

Harry obeyed, but continued to pester Dawson with questions.

"This is good. We should go shopping later, I could do with some new clothes or new anything really. I'm wealthy, so what does it matter? We should get some girls while we're at it. You haven't had sex since two weeks before I met you."

"That's normal, thank you very much."

They stopped at a stop sign and Harry pointed the elderly couple wobbling down the street, probably in their late eighties.

"They had sex a few hours ago, Burns. That's pathetic."

"Oh and when was the last time you got any?" Burns fired at him, his ego slightly damaged.

"I don't remember a damn thing from before I met you. I have an excuse, and if those dreams about Ginny are memories…" He shook his head. "And you barely let me out of the flat so I haven't gotten any since then."

"Go left, then the next right."

"Where are we going?"

"Surrey."

Harry threw on the brakes, pulling over to the side. "Why the bloody hell are we going to see my damn _family_?" He spat.

"I don't get along well with irritating teenagers." Burns rubbed his temples. "Harry. You need to remember your past. Do you have any idea what this is doing to your friends?"

"Why should I care?"

"Because you love them, Harry."

"Dawson, I barely know them. All I have are a few memories from my dreams. And the only ones from the last year are of Ginny and I, and trust me when I say very little information is exchanged during those dreams."

"I'd rather not know these things, Harry."

"Tough. Now, are you forcing me anywhere else today?"

"Hogwarts and Hogsmeade if you have the energy."

Harry sighed angrily, driving forward again.

"Before you were begging to get out of the flat."

"Just shut up, Dawson." Harry muttered through clenched teeth.

The older man laughed, relaxing. "It's a good thing it'll take about an hour to get there. That's just enough time for you to cool off."

They both remained silent for the remaining course of the journey to Surrey, with Harry grumbling under his breath occasionally.

They pulled up to the unfamiliar house to find a woman emerging from the black car in the drive. A blonde man came out and they both stared at the shining Mustang.

"Behave." Burns warned Harry.

"Yeah, yeah…" He grumbled, getting out of the car. He adjusted his leather jacket and kept his sunglasses on.

"Who are you?" The boy was rather large and stood protectively in front of his mother. Burns glared at Harry who didn't bother to smile or even make notice of the pair. He didn't care about his past, he cared about his present.

"Dr. Dawson Burns." He stuck his hand out for Dudley and Petunia to shake. Harry rolled his eyes, concealed by the dark lenses; Burns was smart though to say doctor instead of healer.

"Dudley Dursley." Dudley shook it suspiciously, glancing protectively over at his mother; this surprised Harry, he had been told Dudley had been an irritating lump who cared for himself only.

"Harry." Burns shot Harry a sharp look, so he sighed and took off his sunglasses.

"Harry?" Dudley's eyes went wide.

"Er…yeah" Harry responded uncomfortably.

"Hestia had said you had won, but you never came back. Look, I'm really sorry for everything I ever did to you…what's wrong?"

"I don't know you." Harry said plainly.

Burns motioned to the house. "I'd like to explain Harry's case with you inside. I'm sorry to intrude. I called last night, but…"

"We stayed the night London. We had dropped my husband off for a late flight." Petunia told him, walking to the house.

They all followed and Harry felt irritated by Dudley's stares. "You don't wear glasses now."

"Burns can explain it."

"And you act really different."

"Hmm." Harry shrugged.

They gathered in the kitchen and Petunia offered Burns coffee. He turned to Harry and asked if he wanted any, but Harry merely shook his head.

"As you can tell, Harry is acting, well, odd."

"Yeah, he seems…really different." Dudley was still staring at Harry who was ready to make a shrewd comment.

"As you know, Harry was fighting an evil wizard and in May he won." Dawson continued, receiving nods from both blondes. "About four months ago there was an attack. It wasn't major, but Harry was the only one injured. He was thrown from a second story balcony."

"And he lived?" Dudley finally looked away from Harry to Dawson.

"Yes, but he lost his memory. What he has is _Pueritia Memoria_, Childhood Memory. Because of the damage he sustained in the fall, he lost all of his memories and his mind literally reset itself. A few months ago he acted like a wild six year old. Now, he's an irritating teenager who doesn't keep his mouth shut."

"Love you too, Burnsey."

Burns rolled his eyes at Harry's comment. "Sadly, he hasn't recovered much of his memory. All he has are a few dreams occasionally that are memory flashes."

"Sorry, but I have none of you all." Harry sighed, deciding to simply deal with his 'family'. Maybe Dudley wasn't as bad as Ron had said when Harry had asked in the hospital.

"I was hoping that by bringing him here, he would recover a few memories. Can he see his room, perhaps?"

"Dudley, why don't give Harry a tour? I want to talk with Dr. Burns for a bit." Petunia requested.

"Sure. C'mon." Dudley stood up and Harry followed the man into the living room.

"If you remember anything, I just want you to know that I'm sorry I was so horrible to you."

Harry raised his eyebrows. So he was horrible when we were kids. Ron wasn't lying to him. He hoped that he didn't get any bad memories back though. Dudley could be his ticket to freedom if he liked the guy enough.

Dudley pointed to the dining room. "You blew up my aunt Marge when we were thirteen."

"_My dad wasn't a drunk!"_

Dudley's eyes were wide at Harry's comment. Harry gulped, remembering that entire night. Sounds flooded his ears and he covered them; it was too loud. He remembered running away, the dog in the bushes, and every other summer with the Dursleys; Dudley beating him, Harry running away, the Dementors, Mrs. Figg, Dumbledore taking him away, The Quidditch World Cup, the Death Eaters, leaving for the last time, Dudley thanking him…

"Harry! Harry! What do remember?"

He was panting, lying on the carpet. Burns was above him, his face filled with concern. Aunt Petunia's face was white and Dudley was hovering above Burns, watching Harry's face.

"Everything." He blinked, feeling beads of sweat falling down his face. "Well, everything from here."

"You do?" Burns cracked the smallest of smiles.

Harry let out a sigh, allowing his head to fall on the carpet. He felt completely drained of energy. As though he had just ran for hours.

"Uncle Vernon was not very kind."

"No, none of were." He was shocked to find that it had come from Aunt Petunia. "We were scared of what would happen. Lily had been killed because of what she was. What if they had come for us because of you?"

"Good thing it's over." He looked over to Dudley. "Lost even more weight, huh, Big D?"

Dudley smirked. "I might be able to catch you now."

"You wish. I've gotten a lot stronger since last time." He felt his eyes falling shut.

The last thing he heard was Burns. "Can I put him in his old room? He needs to sleep."

***

"_Ronald, I will not write anymore of your essays! How will you ever pass your NEWTs?"_

_Hermione glared at the redhead who merely shrugged. "I'll wing it?"_

"_Don't think that'll work too well, Ron." Harry smirked at the comment made by the fiery redheaded girl in his lap._

"_Ginny, just study for your OWLs, please." Ron snapped at his sister who rolled her eyes, turning to Harry._

"_Think they'll ever get together?"_

"_Yes."_

"_When?"_

"_Not anytime soon." He smiled at his arguing friends._

"_I'm so tired of these stupid OWLs."_

"_Want a distraction?" Harry raised his eyebrows suggestively._

"_Mr. Potter, what are you insinuating?" She giggled. Not giving him a chance to answer, she lowered her lips to his._

_He felt his heart pound and every part of his body felt her and only her. He wound his hand in her long, sweet-smelling hair and pulled her as close as he could. He sighed into the kiss as she ran her own hands into his messy hair._

"_OI! Not in front of us, please!"_

_They broke apart to see Ron glaring down at them. Hermione had a book in her lap and was perched on the floor beside an armchair._

"_Just because Lavender's the only kissing you've had…" She rolled her eyes, leaving Ron's mouth hanging open._

_Harry laughed into Ginny's neck and felt a sense of peace enter him; he was happy._

_ ***_

"_Harry?"_

"_Ron?"_

_Harry rolled his eyes, throwing the Quaffle directly at the left hoop. Ron caught it easily, not even paying attention._

"_What do you think of Lavender?"_

"_Er…She's, you know, Lavender." He did his best to sound convincing, but he knew he had failed miserably._

_Ron sighed. "I know what you mean. But the snogging's amazing."_

_Harry gagged inwardly. "Yeah, sure…"_

"_But that's all there is, she's not like Hermione who would have an actually conversation."_

"_No, she's not Hermione, Ron." Harry smirked, throwing another shot at the middle hoop, and Ron caught it without even looking this time._

"_What should I do?"_

"_Play like this at the next game. I think I'll have Luna compare Lavender and Hermione for you."_

"_What?" Ron asked as he caught the last Quaffle._

_Harry started laughing, leaning over his broom. Ron was his best mate, no matter how stupid he was._

_ ***_

"_All right, deal the cards, Moony."_

"_Then give me the deck, Sirius."_

_Remus swiped the cards from Sirius, rolling his eyes. He went around twice, going one card at a time. Tonks winked at Harry once she got her hand. Hermione studied hers for several moments, most likely counting cards. Kingsley had to swat Sirius away when the man tried peeking at his hand._

"_I flip." Ron pushed his cards away._

"_It's fold, Ronald." Hermione told him. "And I do too."_

"_Sorry, I'm not aware of muggle games." He scoffed._

"_You are so irrational. Just because you haven't won a game yet, Ron…"_

_Ron rolled his eyes and stood up, leaving the kitchen. Hermione followed him, still lecturing him about muggle card games._

"_Glad they finally left." Sirius remarked, eyeing his cards._

"_Hopefully they'll be snogging by the end of the night." Tonks smirked._

"_Don't hold your breath." Harry laughed, making the first bet._

"_Speaking of snogging, Harry, you getting anything at Hogwarts?" Sirius raised his eyebrows._

"_Oh, yes, if I remember during my run as professor, I caught numerous girls gushing about the handsome, famous Harry Potter." Remus smirked._

"_I'm sure you have plenty of girls, right Harry?" Tonks smiled, clearly wanting details._

"_I…err…"_

"_Please tell me my godson has gotten just a little action in the broom closets?"_

"_I'd rather not, share that…" Harry glued his eyes to his cards, making the next bet._

"_You know Harry; my parents live next door to this wonderful couple." Tonks stated._

"_That's nice." He replies, grateful for a change in conversation._

"_Yes, they have a daughter, she's a ravenclaw."_

"_Oh." Harry felt his stomach fall._

"_Yeah, I enjoy visiting with her when I'm over there. You know, see how Hogwarts is and all the gossip."_

"_Yeah." Harry began blushing; Tonks knew._

"_So, are you going to ask Cho out this year?" She gushed, putting her elbows on the table._

"_A ravenclaw?" Sirius smacked harry across the back. "They're smart and pretty. Is she any good?"_

"_Harry wouldn't know, the little chicken." Tonks said._

"_Don't bug the poor kid." Remus told them, smiling nonetheless._

"_I remember when I was his age, I had my first kiss in my fourth year. Vivian Gates." Kingsley mused._

"_All right Kingsley, nobody cares about your former love life." Sirius laughed, throwing down his hands._

"_Twenty, beat that!"_

"_I'm out." Remus sighed._

"_Me too." Kingsley threw down his cards._

"_I only got eighteen." Tonks muttered, dropping her cards._

"_All right, godson, be a good sport."_

_Harry stood up. "I'm off to bed."_

"_Hey, your hand!" Sirius balked._

"_Oh, yeah." He overturned his cards revealing an ace and a king. "Twenty-one, I win." He smirked._

_ ***_

Harry opened his eyes to the familiar room. The ugly walls were the same, as was everything else. He sat up in his small bed and gazed around the equally small room. Standing up, he loosened the floorboard by the desk, revealing the handful of letters he had stashed there.

He flipped through them, reading each one. They were all from Ron and Hermione and he sighed, feeling older than he ever had. Burns would be pleased.

He could remember nearly everything involving the Dursleys. He had a few holes in his childhood, but he decided that was for the best for now. He pieced together the dozens of dreams he had just had in his sleep. There had been several about Ginny and he smiled thinking about them; he had been in love with her. He felt a twinge of guilt in his stomach because she was still a stranger to Harry.

Sirius. He had had a relationship with him like no other. He tried to compare it to the one he had with Burns but it wasn't the same. Sirius had been his godfather, and while he regarded Dawson as a brother, it was different.

Then there was Ron and Hermione. They had been his brother and sister. The two clearly were meant to be, despite their constant bickering. He felt a smile form on his face when he remembered them being a couple now.

For someone with no family, Harry sure did have a lot. Even if many of them had died in the past year. The people that he seemed to feel the most guilt over were Remus and Tonks. He tried to think back to the biography, but he couldn't remember them being mentioned with the exception of Remus being a marauder and professor and Tonks being in the Order. He had omitted many things from the interview obviously; Ginny wasn't even mentioned as his girlfriend at any point in it. He wasn't surprised though, he deserved privacy when it came to some things.

He glanced at the old clock he remembered looking at so many times before and realized it was past six. They had arrived here around ten in the morning. He had been asleep for hours.

Harry walked downstairs and he heard voices floating from the kitchen. He walked in and found the threesome gathered around the table, eating dinner. Burns rushed to Harry and began firing off questions.

"Easy, Dawson, headache…" Harry pointed to his head, squinting his eyes.

"You just recovered years of your life, I'm not surprised."

"Here." Aunt Petunia was at his side with a glass of water and a small pill. He hadn't even heard her get out of her chair.

"Thanks." Harry took it and sat down at the remaining chair at the table. He rubbed his temples and sighed. Looking down, he found a full plate of food.

"Thank you, Aunt Petunia." He looked at his aunt wearily, but she nodded her head curtly. She was trying to be nice now, and Harry wasn't complaining.

"Did you dream a lot?" Burns asked between bites.

"Nothing about here, surprisingly, they were all at school, or my godfather's." Harry took a bite of the food; it was fantastic. Burns wasn't the greatest cook, and take-out was common at their flat.

"Well, I've been talking with Petunia and Dudley and seeing what happened here tonight, I want you start coming here more often."

"All right." The pounding in his head had been so sudden and it was getting worse. He wasn't going to fight Burns, plus his aunt was being nice. Harry wondered if that had anything to do with his uncle's absence.

"How long is Uncle Vernon gone?"

"He comes back Christmas Eve, the company is expanding and he's opening the branch in Scotland." Dudley answered.

"Oh." Harry continued eating and thought about everything he had dreamed. He had people expecting him to come back, people that he didn't know, that were strangers. He didn't want to go back.

"So, Harry, since you don't really know anybody, do you want to come with me later to my friends Jimmy's flat?"

Harry looked up at his cousin, unsure of what to say. Dudley had never had a very good selection of friends, but he had changed, so maybe his friends had too.

"Sure, if Dawson here lets me. He keeps me on a tight leash until I'm 'knowledgeable' enough to leave his sight."

"I don't see why not." Burns stabbed a piece of meat with his fork, glaring at Harry.

"What time are you going?"

"Like eight or nine."

"Burns and I have something to do, but if you give me the address, I'll meet you there."

Dudley's face seemed to light up slightly. He was probably trying to make up for being such a git. Harry smirked inwardly. He was going to make Burns get him his bike today.

"What do we have to do?"

"I wanted to pick up my bike."

Burns rolled his eyes. "Fine, I already know where we're getting it."

"Good."

"You're getting a motorcycle?" Dudley questioned.

"Yeah."

"I want one."

"Not with your dad around." Harry chuckled.

"Well, we need to get going. Thanks for the lunch and dinner, Mrs. Dursley; I'll have to pay you back sometime." Burns stood up, and hugged Harry's aunt, who didn't seem to mind.

"It was my pleasure, Dr. Burns."

"Call me Dawson."

Harry followed his mentor to the front door and he shook his cousin's hand.

"This is the address. He always has different people coming and going, so you'll probably get to meet a bunch of people." He said, handing Harry a scrap of paper.

"Thanks, D."

Once they were in the Mustang, Harry began nagging Burns with questions.

"So, was she nice?"

"Of course, she was perfectly pleasant. It sounds like a lot of her anger towards you derives from that worthless husband of hers, but what can you do?"

"What did you even talk about?"

"You mostly. I asked her tell me as much as she knew about you and your parents."

"My parents?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"She said she never really talked about her sister with you because it was painful, especially with you having her eyes. She did care about her, but sometimes people can't handle it."

"Yeah, I know. At least, I think I do."

Burns watched Harry curiously. "You think?"

"All these new memories, it's hard to sort them all out. I remember most of the first eleven years of my life. There are a lot of holes, like from age six to eight, I don't remember. And my earliest memory is of riding that motorcycle with Hagrid, but then it jumps to sometime when I was like four, chasing a bug in the backyard." He crinkled his nose.

"I'm amazed at this progress though, Harry. We won't be making that trip to Hogsmeade today though."

"I figured." Harry yawned. "Gosh, I'm still not woken up yet."

"You're driving, so now I'm nervous." Dawson laughed.

"I can drive just fine. So, direct me to my new bike, Burnsey!"

* * *

A/N: I know you can do it! Please! That review buttom is right there :]


	5. Chapter 5

Harry had loved the Mustang. She was cherry red with shining headlights and flawless leather seats. The stereo system was amazing and she drove like a dream. He could drive it forever.

He thought this until he got on his motorcycle. It was a vivid, emerald green and reached speeds over a hundred miles per hour. It was a flawless racing bike. He had a helmet, of course, the same color as the bike. He got a special, black leather jacket and he never felt more at ease flying down the back streets of London.

He found Jimmy's flat easily. It wasn't too far from King's Cross and now that Harry remembered his time with the Dursleys, he remembered his travels to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He parked his bike on the sidewalk and walked into the building, pulling off his helmet.

He knocked on the door and a lanky boy with long, blond hair answered the door. Music was blasting in the background and it sounded like there were at least ten people inside. Harry laughed inwardly when he assessed the boy. He was about sixteen or seventeen, and had been smoking marijuana only hours ago. He hadn't even gotten near a girl in months, though, and this is what made Harry laugh silently.

Dawson had said he was especially observant now, but Harry hadn't had too many chances to use his new skill.

"Hey, I'm Harry."

"Oh." The boy gave him a goofy grin and stepped aside, letting him inside.

Dudley was sitting on the couch with a bottle of beer. Two other men were sitting beside him, both had short brown hair and Harry could have sworn they were twins.

"Hey, Harry." Dudley waved him over and pointed to the two men next to him.

"This is Mark and his twin brother Kent."

"Hey." They both smiled at Harry who returned it.

"Any chance I can have one of those beers." Harry smirked.

"I got you, mate." A voice came from the kitchen. He was hidden in the refrigerator, so Harry only saw his jeans and wrinkled white T-shirt.

When he did rise up, however, he carried two beers and Harry was surprised to see his arms covered in tattoos. His hair was purposeful messy and was black with bright red tips. He handed Harry a beer and shook his hand.

"I'm Tyson."

"Harry."

"Dudley said you were his cousin who lost his memory."

Harry tapped his temple. "Not much going on." He chuckled.

"That's probably really weird."

"It's weirder for my friends. I apparently went to a boarding school and they all live somewhere over in Devon. I stay in London to be with my doctor."

"Is she hot?" Tyson asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"Oh yeah, Dawson's got a nice rack, let me tell you." Harry laughed. "He's like my brother at this point. I live with him until I'm deemed recovered enough. It's better than the hospital."

"I bet. You ride a bike?" Tyson looked at the helmet in Harry's hand.

"Yeah, just got it today, along with a new driver's license and Mustang." He grinned.

"Nice. I ride one too. They're great."

"Yeah, so do you go to school or what?"

"I work in a mechanics shop down the road. College isn't for me. I prefer to hang around and play my music."

"What instrument?"

"Guitar mostly. But I can play the drums too."

"That's cool."

"Yeah, I should take you to see my band sometime. You'd like them."

"Any girls?"

"Maddi. She's a babe with a killer voice."

"I'm in." Harry nodded.

Tyson laughed. "I like you, Harry. Wanna get out of here before Jimmy breaks out the bong? As much as I enjoy it occasionally it gets old doing it with Jimmy. He's a total bum."

"Yeah, totally." Harry drained the rest of his beer and waved to Dudley.

"Thanks for everything, D, I'll come by later. I'm getting a cell phone later this week."

Dudley seemed disappointed that they hadn't even talked, but he took one look at Tyson and didn't push the issue.

When they got outside Harry wondered where Tyson's bike was. The man pulled it out from behind the metal trash cans, grinning at Harry.

"There's a girl who isn't pleased with me right now. She's been known to do some real damage to bikes."

"Do me a favor and not introduce us." Harry smirked, pulling his helmet on.

"Okay, mate." Tyson pulled on his own helmet and started his bike.

Harry followed Tyson through the dark streets of London and pulled up to tattered, tin building covering in graffiti. He knew Tyson was rough around the edges, but he didn't realize just how much. A voice in the back of his head said to watch his back, but his teenage spirit was screaming to have fun.

Tyson pulled out a key and led Harry into the building. Dingy couches and chairs were gathered around a television in the room by the door. There were no real walls, except surrounding what Harry realized to be the bathroom. There was a makeshift kitchen with an old refrigerator and a table with a few wooden chairs. It was brighter than the outside but it still had a dark, looming presence.

In the far corner of the massive building was where the band played. A drum set was in the very corner and there were guitars and a keyboard. Microphones and all kinds of sound equipment were tucked everywhere and a leather couch served as seating for an audience.

"Nobody's gotten home yet." Tyson remarked.

"You live here with…?"

"Maddi, Casen, Dave and Kyle. They're my band mates as well. I'm guitarist, Casen's keyboards and guitar, Dave is bass guitar and Kyle is the drummer. Maddi's our singer."

"Can you show me how to play for a second?" Harry asked.

Tyson wrinkled his nose. "In a second? It takes longer than that." He laughed, but he picked up the acoustic leaning against the wall by the door. Harry watched as his fingers flew along the strings, playing it beautifully.

When he finished Harry took the guitar from him. He recreated the entire song Tyson had just played. Tyson laughed the moment Harry finished.

"What was the point in asking me to show you if you could already play?"

"I couldn't play before." Harry told him.

"No way."

"I'm serious. It's part of my memory loss. I fell and hit my head so hard that my mind reset itself, according to the doctors. A few months ago I acted like a child, and my favorite toy was the spaceship Burns gave me. Burns is the doctor I live with."

"Wow, that's really strange." Tyson shook his head.

"Yeah, I'm also super observant and can pick up on like feelings and stuff. You've had at least two drinks every night this week." Harry strummed all the strings of the guitar, still staring at Tyson.

"That's incredible."

Harry shrugged. "So have you always lived in London?"

"Pretty much. I travel whenever I get enough money. All of us are going to New York for New Year's eve."

"America?"

"Yeah, right after we go skiing in the mountains for Christmas. Maddi's aunt loves her and luckily she married some rich dude who has house in like every country. We go there almost every year for Christmas."

"That sounds awesome. You don't have any family around to tie you down?"

Tyson shrugged. "My dad was a drunk and left when I was three. My mum wasn't much of a mum and I haven't talked to her since I moved out when I was sixteen and got a job at the shop."

"My parents died in a car crash when I was a baby. That's how I got the scar. I lived." He hated lying about his parents, but he couldn't say anything about magic.

"Sorry, mate."

"It's ok." Harry shrugged.

They were both silent for a moment when the door opened and four people walked in, laughing. Three of them were men and the last was a beautiful woman.

"Guys, this is Harry."

"Hey, Harry, I'm Casen." Casen had three piercings, both ears and a silver hoop around his bottom lip. He had black hair that fell into his eyes and his bare arms were dotted with a few tattoos.

Kyle had black hair similar to Casen's, only he didn't have any piercings. His arms were covered in tattoos like Tyson though. He reminded Harry of someone, and he came up with a name, but he didn't remember a Neville, so it didn't matter.

Dave had lime green hair and compared to the other's skinny sizes, he was extremely well built. He didn't have any piercings or tattoos that Harry could see and was the quiet one out of all of them.

Last was Maddi, she had long black hair and stunning dark blue eyes. While the features sounded similar, Harry saw no connection to the girl he had dreamed of named Cho. Maddi wore tight jeans and a low cut tank top that revealed her stomach and glimmering belly button piercing. She grinned at him flirtatiously and he returned it, already liking her.

"So, where are you from Harry?" She asked.

"Surrey, but I live here in London."

"That's nice. How did you come across Ty here?"

"Jimmy's." Tyson answered for him.

"I hope you aren't as irritating as that blonde idiot."

"I hope not too."

"Wanna know something cool about Harry?" Tyson appeared at Harry's side, smoking a cigarette. "He has a rare memory loss from some accident a few months ago. He had to like grow up or something. His cousin told me about it."

"Really?" Maddi laughed.

"My mind kinda reset itself, so I had to grow up all over again. I still barely remember the important parts of my life. I remember when I was kid and my summers in Surrey, but not my boarding school and all my friends."

"That sucks." Kyle burped, chugging something from a plastic cup.

"I don't care. I'm having fun right now, so what does it matter?"

"I like that." Maddi smiled.

"He could do some wicked things too. I played my guitar for one song, then he can go and play the guitar like he's been doing it for years. It's incredible."

"It won't last. Once my mind catches up with my true age, my skills will be gone."

"You'll forget how to play the guitar?" Casen asked.

"I don't think so, but I won't be able to learn the same way. I don't know very much. I'd have to ask Burns, my doctor."

"The one you're living with?" Tyson asked, blowing out a cloud of smoke.

"Yeah, him."

"Funny, I didn't picture you swinging that way." Maddi eyed him curiously and Harry laughed.

"He's like an older brother. He monitors my memory and stuff until I'm all grown up again."

"But until then, he's having all the fun he can handle." Tyson smirked. "Harry's hanging with us for a while, guys."

"I'm not complaining." Maddi purred, reaching out and stroking Harry's cheek. Harry licked his bottom lick and knew he was definitely going to have a lot of fun from now on.

***

"Check in every now and then."

"Yes, mummy." Harry mocked, throwing more clothes into his rucksack.

"I'm serious Harry, you're mind-"

"Is fine, Dawson! I'm like seventeen, only about a year behind. Now, while I'm having fun with my friends, you are going to Devon."

Burns' face fell. "Harry, what did you do?"

"Your mum is a delight. I don't see why you don't spend more time with her."

"You called my mother!"

"Yes, and she expects you for the holidays. Look," Harry stopped to look at Burns and dropped his voice lower, "I never had family to go home to, Burns, except the Weasleys', but I don't remember much of that. My Christmases as a kid were bloody awful. Now, you are going to see your parents and brother whether you want to or not."

"What are you taking me there now?"

"No, but the guilt would eat away at your insides until you're a crying mess on the bathroom floor."

"Thanks for the imagery." Dawson sighed.

"No problem." Harry zipped up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I'll be back in two weeks. Maybe longer."

"You said the weekend."

"If I like it, I'm staying."

"Harry, you can't just move!"

"Excuse me? I'm eighteen, I do whatever I want. I know you think you are, but you aren't my parent or anything." Harry brushed past him and marched down the hallway.

"You don't even have a wand!"

"I don't know any spells, so a fat lot of good one would do me."

"Harry, you're a rebellious teenager in your mind-"

"Would you cut the healer act, please? I really don't care anymore, Dawson. I'm going to be my friends. Tell my past-life ones I'm sorry or something." He pulled open the door and went into the hallway with Dawson following closely.

"Harry!"

"I'll see you later, Burns." Harry got on his bike, pulling his helmet on. Before Burns got another word in, he was flying down the street.

***

_Ginny,_

_I feel horrible having to write you this. He's gotten worse. In fact, he's hit rock-bottom. I wish I could tell you his progress over the next few weeks, but I can't. Because a few weeks ago he left and I don't know if he's coming back. I knew he was growing restless, like any teenager, but it was different because he is eighteen. _

_I just want you to know how important Harry has been to me over the last few months. I just got back from seeing my parents and little brother, whom I haven't seen in over two years. Harry had called my mother and had a long talk with her about me. Raising Harry has been so challenging and enjoyable. It seems like just yesterday I was buying him toy cars, and then a real car, and now he's gone. I loved him like a younger brother and feel the blame lies with me, the stupid twenty-three year old who believed he could raise the most famous wizard in the world._

_It's January tenth right now, and he had said he would be back, but he hasn't and he won't be. I don't want you to worry yourself over this too much. Harry will have to grow up eventually, because it's who he is. He can stall all he wants, but eventually his memories will all return. I hope that by then I'll be there to help him through like when he was at the Dursleys. It will be far more painful for him, especially emotionally._

_Unfortunately, he has defiantly gotten stuck at this age and it could be several months until he finally reaches eighteen, or by then, nineteen. His mind is very fragile and can be easily influenced. He can take one look at something and change his entire persona. I know the people he is with and they aren't bad people, just a bit on the wild side. I wouldn't be shocked if Harry came back covered in piercings and tattoos. My condolences if this part upsets you and Hermione. _

_I was smart enough to place a tracking spell on him before he left, but it won't last too much longer. He has been traipsing all over the world. For New Year's he was in New York, America, no doubt partying. Before that he was in the Swiss Alps, skiing and snowboarding with his friends. I'm not entirely sure where he is now because he keeps moving. If I don't see him in the next few months though, the spell will wear off and I won't know where he is._

_His memory recovery was doing very well when he left, more of those missing pieces from his horrid childhood had returned and he had more small memories of Hogwarts, but sadly, he still sees you and Ron and Hermione and everybody else as strangers._

_I know you have an Easter break, and if I haven't found Harry by then, then I'll be at your family's home asking for help. There's not much wizards can do, however, seeing as Harry doesn't know any magic, or even has a wand. He is a muggle in a muggle world._

_I wish I had had the nerve to write to you sooner, but I wanted to be sure of his leaving. I have faith, though, Ginny. The night before he left he had been saying your name in his sleep again. If there's anything that will bring his memory back, it will be something that reminds him of you._

_I'm watching him closely and will make sure he doesn't try and do something that gets him killed. I'd approach him when and if he returns to England, but he'd run away and make sure that I can't find him. For now, all I can do is hope for the spell to remain strong and for his memories to return to him._

_Dawson_

A single tear down Ginny's face as she read the letter. He was gone. She had to find him. She had to leave Hogwarts right then.

"Ginny, you can't leave."

She met Hermione's serious eyes and sighed, wiping away her tear. They were sitting outside the owlery having just received the letter from Shakespeare.

"Hermione, he's gone. What am I supposed to do?"

"Wait, just like Dawson says. Harry will come back, just like his memory will. He already knows his life with the Durlseys and everything muggle. Magic is all that's left."

"That's a pretty big part, Hermione." Ginny snapped, leaning against the wall.

"I have faith, just like Dawson." Hermione said softly.

Ginny sighed. "I do too. But that doesn't make it any easier. This year has been horrible without Harry. I thought he would never leave again. He had promised me that he wasn't going to. When he asked me to marry him, he said he wouldn't leave-"

"He asked you to marry him?" Hermione's mouth fell open and her friend nodded.

"We were going to announce our relationship before I left for school, and then the engagement when I graduated. We had a plan." She laughed slightly. "Very unlike Harry."

"He liked doing more than planning." Hermione grinned.

"Except with us. He said all he had to do when he was lonely during that year was plan. He planned our entire life. I love him so much."

"He loved you too. I caught him saying your name in his sleep a few times. Looks like that never stopped." She glanced down at the letter again.

Ginny nodded. "I just hope he's waiting for me." She whispered, looking across the lake, a few lone water lilies floating across the surface.

* * *

A/N: Leave a review and let me know what you think please! :]


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**Okayyy, first Disclaimer: the song Harry 'wrote' is Your Call by Secondhand Serenade. Harry and Ginny's song which I frequently change the lyrics for the story is This is Love (I'm Yours Now) by Annasay. And of course I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

"Harry, if you go and ride your bike down the street, and ramp off that plank on that car, I'll have sex with you." Maddi pointed to the stained piece of wood leaning against the piece of junk car, creating a ramp like object.

"He doesn't want to touch you, Maddi, he has his dream girl, Ginny." Kyle laughed, playing with his video camera.

Harry rolled his eyes, wishing they hadn't caught him muttering Ginny's name in his sleep. He had only been caught a few times and once on camera, but they still enjoyed torturing him.

He got on his bike and sped down the street, ramping off the plank and breaking it. Luckily, he had collected enough speed to be thrown in the air, landing on the pavement smoothly. He laughed, pulling up to the abandoned car his friends were piled around.

"You say something, Kyle?" Harry teased.

Maddi pulled Harry by the shirt and kissed him deeply. He returned it, enjoying it. But there was still something missing. He had been kissing Maddi since they went to the mountains, but it wasn't like when he had his dreams about Ginny. He liked Maddi, but it was purely physical. They had never dated and Harry had made it clear that they never would.

"I'm hungry." Casen stared up at the star filled sky.

Harry pulled out a cigarette, lighting it. It was late March and they were in California, America. They had been there for a few weeks and were growing sick of the heat. Tyson and Harry had tried surfing, which they both instantly enjoyed. The others didn't want anything to do with it and stuck to skateboarding.

"I say we get plane tickets back to London." Tyson announced. "This heat is ridiculous."

"I agree." Maddi pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

While the boys had dealt with the heat by wearing their jeans and simply abandoning their shirts, Maddi enjoyed taunting them all with tiny shorts and bikini tops.

"I'm fine with it. You all have any money, or is my inheritance paying for them?"

"I've got enough, but I doubt they do." Dave commented, tossing the remainder of his cigarette into the sewer.

"I can pay half. I could pay full, but then I'd have to borrow money for food." Casen told Harry, who shrugged.

"I miss the weather back home, let's go get a nice hotel room for tonight." Tyson suggested, pulling out his wallet. "I got a hundred for the rest of the trip. I can pay my way for a suite."

"I can't." Casen snorted.

"I'll cover. I really don't care. It's not really my money if you ask me. I got it because I was born." He blew out a puff of smoke.

"You're so different, Harry." Tyson began laughing.

"What?"

"We corrupted you." Kyle noted.

"How?" Harry held his arms out, curious.

"You smoke, you got a few tattoos and you got a _fauxhawk_." Kyle stood up on the car making a ridiculous motion running his hand through his hair.

"I still don't get the auburn. It's like any other red-head." Tyson raised his eyebrows.

"I like it, auburn on black, it's a good combination." Harry fluffed up the auburn section. He had gotten it thinking about Ginny; it was identical to her hair.

Tyson yawned. "Let's get out of here."

***

"Ginny, are you okay?"

Ginny looked up her two friends. Luna and Hermione were both looking at her with concerned faces. She shrugged.

"Dawson says he hasn't had much luck in finding Harry. I'm really starting to get worried."

"You started getting worried the day you found out Harry was gone. Ginny, you need to relax. You just have to go through your NEWTs and then you leave Hogwarts for the last time." Hermione told her.

"I'm going to find him, Hermione."

"Your mother wouldn't let you. Even if you're seventeen. Besides, none of them know that you were even involved with Harry, let alone engaged."

"I want him back, Hermione."

"We all do, but you can't just go out in the world and start looking."

Ginny smirked. "Actually I can."

"I'm staying with my parents the entire Easter break, so I'll see you here."

The rest of the train ride was silent and when they arrived at the station, Ginny wasn't surprised to see almost her entire family there to greet her. She waved good-bye to Hermione and Luna and went with her family, all of them apparating.

When they arrived at The Burrow, they found Bill sitting in the kitchen, waiting for them. Ginny rushed to hug her oldest brother, who chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"I missed you too, Ginny."

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I talked to Dawson Burns yesterday."

"Any news?" Her mother looked at her son with sudden tears in her eyes.

"No, but he says he's been going over Harry's memory pattern from before and he doesn't understand why he hasn't returned. He says that Harry should have recovered his memory by now, in theory. But he also told me that because of Harry's power, he could be stalling it. It's a lot for a teenager to take on."

Ginny watched her mother's face fall. She had thought she had only lost one child in the war, but then Harry fell…

"Are we ever going to look for him?" Ginny asked.

"Look where, Ginny? He could be anywhere." Bill answered sadly. Ginny felt Ron's hand on her shoulder; he was the only one in the family who knew what she was feeling. Harry had told him about the engagement.

"I need to start finding a flat." She announced.

"You haven't even graduated yet, Ginny. I know you're very independent, but there's no rush." Her mother told her.

"I know, but I want to go out and explore everything. I want to live in London."

"It'll be hard to find a place in London." Her father remarked, opening that day's paper.

"Not if you let me move into a muggle flat." She told him. He nodded, listening to her and Ginny knew he could convince her mother.

She went upstairs to unpack her trunk and lay down on the bed, feeling exhausted. She allowed herself to drift back into Harry's arms, the two of them by the lake…

***

"_You are so amazing." He whispered, kissing her bare skin._

"_I love you." Her breathing was heavy and she smiled up at him. _

_All he could feel was the heat of her body on his. He brushed away a lock of her hair, leaning down and kissing her again._

"_We're going to get caught." She warned._

"_We've been down here for almost an hour like this." He continued kissing her, on her cheek, neck…_

_He didn't care if they got caught. He didn't care about anything but her when he was with her. Her lips were red and swollen from the force of their kisses. He breathed in her scent, wishing everything smelled that way._

"_We're making love on the floor of the common room, Harry." She giggled._

"_We've got blankets. One beneath us, one on top of us…we're good." He whispered before pressing his lips to hers again._

"_What was that?" He glanced towards the stairs, thinking he had heard something._

"_First you convince me that we're not going to get caught and now you're saying there's someone watching us?" She giggled, tilting her head up and kissing him._

"_I love you."_

"_Promise me something."_

"_Anything." He brushed her hair gently, feeling its softness between his fingers._

"_That you'll say it anytime I want."_

"_Aw." He shoved his head into her neck, laughing._

"_You said anything." _

"_All right, all right, I, Harry James Potter, am in love with Ginerva Molly Weasley. I love you with all my heart, all the time, anywhere, no matter what. The world can fall, but my love will not. You are the most amazing person I have ever met and I love you even more every second, minute, hour and day we are near each other. My life started with you and will end with you. Now, just marry me."_

"_You always change the last part." She laughed softly, tears running down her face._

"_And you always cry. I've made you soft. You didn't cry at the Final Battle but you do when I say I love you?" He kissed where her tears fell, still running his fingers through her soft hair._

"_I cried when Ron ruined our kiss on your birthday. I love you."_

"_I love you forever, no matter what." He closed the miniscule distance between them and kissed her, finishing what they had started over an hour ago…_

Harry jerked awake, sweat running down his face. He clamored out of his bed, going into his bathroom. He didn't know what he was doing, but he knew he was acting from memory.

He looked in the mirror and watched himself as he placed a finger on the temple of his head, thinking about the dream and the dream only. He watched a silvery liquid like substance pull from his head with his finger. He dropped it into the sink, making sure the drain was closed.

He was panting as he held his breath, dunking his head into it and feeling himself falling through the air. He landed in the common room. In front of the fire, he and Ginny were entwined beneath a thick blanket.

"What was that?"

His memory self looked towards the stairs. Harry walked past the couple and went to the stairs, where he found Molly Weasley.

Tears were running down her face and they increased dramatically as Harry's dream self professed his love to Ginny again.

Harry felt taken aback by the sight. She had been there, watching Harry and her daughter make love on the floor beside the fire. She had listened to them share words of their deep love for each other.

Suddenly Harry felt himself floating away. Moments later he was sitting on the floor of his bathroom. He stood up and looked at the substance in the sink. He waved his hand over it and it vanished. Harry gazed at his reflection for several minutes.

He had continued building his muscles and was now the strongest of his group. He had gotten a few tattoos, all from his dreams. On his left arm, between his shoulder and elbow he had a fierce gray wolf howling with Mischief Managed above it. Then, on his right shoulder blade on his back, he had Cedric.

He had awoken in a panicked sweat after that dream of the graveyard. He still had nightmares about it. The very next day he had gone out and gotten the tattoo, wanting to keep Cedric with him at all times; he felt a strong sense of guilt with it.

Harry walked out of his bathroom and went right past his large, comforting bed. He had moved into the flat months ago, when he decided he wasn't going back to Burns. The flat was really large, and expensive. He had it furnished and top of the line appliances were installed.

He walked into the spacious living space, where he had baby grand piano, a drum set and a large collection of guitars. He had learned how to play nearly every instrument, simply by watching another. Burns had never told him about this, but Harry decided to simply loop it into the category of being highly observant.

He found his favorite acoustic and sat down at the piano, where he had the page of lyrics and notes propped up. He had just finished the song the night before.

"Waiting for your, call I'm sick, call I'm angry…"

He began strumming the guitar softly, singing gently his lyrics. He had never felt more confuse then now. His life was what he wanted, but it wasn't…

He should have stayed with Burns, but he had been a stupid, arrogant teenager. He continued singing, realizing that he was approaching eighteen in his mind, but his nineteenth birthday was also rapidly approaching.

"…and I am torn, to do what I have to, to make you mine, stay with me tonight…"

The image of the fiery red head from his dreams flashed through his mind. He wondered where Ginny was. He wondered what she was like. From his dreams, she knew she funny and smart and, of course, beautiful.

He finished the song and dropped his guitar. His mind was foggy, yet clearer than ever. He went into the kitchen and poured out a glass of water. He set it on the counter and moved to the opposite side of the kitchen, staring intensely at the glass.

Harry wasn't sure what he was expecting, but his dreams were starting to get the best of him. He remembered so many small pieces of Hogwarts, but they were all random and didn't make sense. They were also short scenes from his past, a conversation with Ron or kissing Ginny. There were a few of him teaching a crowd of other kids, and even one of him snogging some girl he knew to be Cho. He greatly enjoyed the few memories he had of Sirius and he began to miss his godfather, whom he still remembered little about.

He continued to stare at the glass and he heard a small voice in the back of his head. "Move." Move? Was thinking going to make the glass move?

Suddenly the full glass began to slowly slide across the countertop, not stopping until it fell into the sink, shattering.

"Wicked." Harry breathed. He hadn't tried to do very many things involving magic since he didn't remember any of it, but now he was curious.

He pulled a butter knife out of the draw and set it on the counter. He went back to his place on the other side of the kitchen and gazed at the knife. He waited until the familiar voice, his own voice, in the back of his head decided what to do.

"Wingardium Leviosa." Harry had never heard of that and was beginning to question the voice, but then, the knife began to rise, hovering in the air. It went several feet before Harry willed it to go back down.

Harry laughed under his breath. Magic had always been there but he had never wanted to try it. Dozens of strange sayings and words suddenly came rushing back to him. He clenched his teeth as his head pounded.

Then, as soon as it had come, it was gone. He felt overwhelmed by the new-found knowledge and shook his head, confused. They were spells. He knew each one and what they did, but he had trouble piecing them together. He could remember charms from his first year, and how to turn a bird into a cat. He could even recall the Unforgivable Curses.

Harry rushed back to bedroom and found a T-shirt and shoes. He grabbed his leather jacket and keys, locking the door on his way out. The night air was cool and he took in a deep breath. There wasn't very much going on at two in the morning. Unless you knew where to look.

Harry wandered into the bar he went to on many occasions with his friends. A band was always set up there, day and night. Harry sat down at the bar and began playing with the dish of pretzels. The band playing sounded vaguely familiar but he shrugged the feeling off.

"You were only seventeen when I met you…"

He froze, looking at the band and listening to the song intently. He didn't recognize the lyrics, but he did recognize the music.

"Now, this is love like never before…"

That he knew. He had sung that chorus to Ginny in dozens of dreams and in the memory flash from St. Mungo's.

He listened to remainder of the song. He closed his eyes and every memory he had of Ginny flashed through his mind. He could feel her, smell her, taste her…

At that moment, he had never wished more that he could go back. He wished he could have his memory back and be able to find Ginny, and hold her, and kiss her.

"Yours alone, alone! My love, this is love like never before. I can't, I can't breathe anymore, you're everything that I adore. Baby, I'm yours alone…"

He smiled as the music faded, the song ending. He opened his eyes, one thought had invaded his mind and he couldn't get it out.

"Water lilies." He murmured.

He left the bar and wandered into the deserted street of London. There was no sign of life, outside of the bar he had just emerged from. He came to a stoplight, all the lights tuned to a yellow. He sat down, staring at the lights. He leaned back, lying down on the black pavement.

"To make you mine, stay with me tonight." He muttered.

"And I'm tired of being all alone and this solitary moment makes me want to come back home."

He closed his eyes, his mind drifting away to Ginny. He remembered her love. He couldn't think of all the times they had spent together, or remember the moment they met or anything like that. But he remembered their love. He remembered the night in the common room, the two of them entwined on the floor.

"I was born to tell you I love you."

He continued singing the song out of order, not caring. He stretched his arms out and shivered as a gentle wind caressed his face and flowed in beneath his jacket. Ginny was the one for him, but how could she be with someone who couldn't laugh about playing Quidditch with her, or remember that joke they had shared.

He remembered the Dursleys, he remembered every spell and he had pieces of his friends and Ginny. He went through every piece and counted each one. Thirty-two. He had thirty-two out of a million memories.

Harry stood up finally and he began walking down the middle of the road, looking ahead and not once glancing over his shoulder. He was going to find her, no matter what it required.

***

Ginny stared through the window of her flat, looking down at the darkened street below. Her father had found it for her the day after she had gotten off the train and she was already making plans to search for Harry, despite the fact that she only had a few days before she would have to return to school. George was taking care of the first few months' rent while she was in school. She couldn't believe her family had agreed to this; she wasn't even seventeen yet. She sighed, knowing it was Harry; they were all lost without him.

She stood up and went to her bedroom. The flat was small, with one tiny bedroom and bathroom, but it was all hers. She reached into her dresser draw and pulled out the small journal. There was nothing written in it, besides a small date. But that wasn't the reason behind the little book. She opened it to the center page and smiled at the drawing in it.

A white water lily.

She and Harry had considered it to represent every part of their love. Ginny felt a small tear escape her brown eyes as she thought about all the times they had sat by the lake and watched the lilies float gently across its surface.

* * *

**A/N:** Now, Harry doesn't actually remember Ginny entirely, just a few memories and strong feelings for her. Also, if you read my other story, Into the Sky, then you notice a few similarities between this Harry and Sky. What can I say, I like the red hair and tattoos :]

**REVIEW :]**


	7. Chapter 7

"_You are so amazing." He whispered, kissing her bare skin._

"_I love you." Her breathing was heavy and she smiled up at him. _

_All he could feel was the heat of her body on his. He brushed away a lock of her hair, leaning down and kissing her again._

"_We're going to get caught." She warned._

"_We've been down here for almost an hour like this." He continued kissing her, on her cheek, neck…_

_He didn't care if they got caught. He didn't care about anything but her when he was with her. Her lips were red and swollen from the force of their kisses. He breathed in her scent, wishing everything smelled that way._

"_We're making love on the floor of the common room, Harry." She giggled._

"_We've got blankets. One beneath us, one on top of us…we're good." He whispered before pressing his lips to hers again._

"_What was that?" He glanced towards the stairs, thinking he had heard something._

"_First you convince me that we're not going to get caught and now you're saying there's someone watching us?" She giggled, tilting her head up and kissing him._

"_I love you."_

"_Promise me something."_

"_Anything." He brushed her hair gently, feeling its softness between his fingers._

"_That you'll say it anytime I want."_

"_Aw." He shoved his head into her neck, laughing._

"_You said anything." _

"_All right, all right, I, Harry James Potter, am in love with Ginerva Molly Weasley. I love you with all my heart, all the time, anywhere, no matter what. The world can fall, but my love will not. You are the most amazing person I have ever met and I love you even more every second, minute, hour and day we are near each other. My life started with you and will end with you. Now, just marry me."_

"_You always change the last part." She laughed softly, tears running down her face._

"_And you always cry. I've made you soft. You didn't cry at the Final Battle but you do when I say I love you?" He kissed where her tears fell, still running his fingers through her soft hair._

"_I cried when Ron ruined our kiss on your birthday. I love you."_

"_I love you forever, no matter what." He closed the miniscule distance between them and kissed her, finishing what they had started over an hour ago…_

Harry's eyes opened and he found himself in his familiar flat. He had had the dream every night for a week, each time it seemed to grow more and more intense.

He glanced out the window and saw that his nap had stretched into the night. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was only half past nine. He rolled out of bed, his white undershirt wrinkled. He found his jeans and jacket, pulling them both on. He slipped his shoes on and left his room.

He had taken to going for walks after his dreams. He enjoyed clearing his head in the cool, night air. This time, he grabbed his guitar, hoping to find a nice spot to sit and play.

With his guitar on his back, he walked through the street, going down the same path he always went down, usually ending up in the middle of the road or listening to music in the bar.

He came to the bar and decided to just perch himself on the brick wall outside of the building. The bar's entrance was several steps lower than the street and sidewalk and the wall curved up, creating a railing. It was the perfect size for Harry to lie down on and play his guitar. It was curved in a way that allowed him to remain sitting up slightly.

He began strumming the guitar, singing his familiar song. He watched the occupants of the bar. There were dozens of people shuffling in and out. He looked up to the sky and continued singing.

Harry heard the door open, and glanced down to see a beautiful redhead. She had deep brown eyes and seemed lost, her arms crossed, her jacket shut tight.

"I was born to tell you I love you."

She looked up at him and her eyes softened. Harry stopped and looked from her to the stars and back again.

"You know, I remember the promise." He began tuning his guitar, not looking at her.

"What else do you remember?"

"The Dursleys. I remember magic, spells and things that I really don't understand fully. But of the memories that do matter I only have thirty-two."

"You counted?"

"Of course." He still didn't look up her, keeping his eyes on his guitar.

"But you remember the promise?"

"Actually, I remember a fantastic night on the floor of the Gryffindor common room with an amazing woman." Harry finally looked up at her, smiling slightly.

"That's a good memory to have." She stepped closer to him, her hand resting on his knee.

"Apparently, I agree, seeing that I've had that dream every time I sleep for the last week."

Ginny laughed under her breath. "You know, I've been looking for you."

"I have too."

"Where have you been?"

"C'mon, let me explain someplace…warmer." He smiled, taking her hand.

He led her back to his flat and pulled off his jacket once they were inside. She gazed around the darkened room, seeing only shadows thanks to the lights from the street shining in through the windows.

"Burns is worried about you." She told him, leaning against the piano. He shrugged, standing closely to her. He could feel the warmth radiating off of her body and he remembered his dreams vividly. It was all he could do to prevent himself from kissing her right then.

"So, you've been living here?" She asked, glancing around the dim flat.

"I have had some pretty wild dreams about you." He spoke softly, looking straight into her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I remember meeting you in the hospital and I have a few little memories of us just talking and kissing, but you are still a stranger to me."

Her face fell. "Oh."

Harry took a step closer, drawn to her. "But you aren't. Because I've had this other dream, this one dream and it has been driving me absolutely crazy."

"Why?"

"Because all I feel is love and passion for someone who I don't know. I can't tell you what flowers are your favorite, or if you prefer the summer over the winter. But I do know how to touch you, how to kiss you, how to make you cry." He was breathing above her lips, millimeters away.

"Really?" She breathed, her eyes falling shut as his lips collided with hers.

Harry pushed her against the piano, deepening the kiss before he felt her hands fly beneath his thin shirt, pulling it off. A small sound of pleasure erupted from her throat as he lifted her up, carrying her to his bedroom. He barely knew the woman in his arms, and yet he knew everything about her.

***

Light was streaming into the room as Harry rolled over, his arm wrapping around the soft form beside him. His eyes opened slowly and he smiled at the sight of the red-head next to him. He placed several lights kisses along her chest and neck, planting a fiercer one on her lips, waking her up.

Her hands snaked around his neck, eventually grasping tufts of his hair. He laughed slightly into the kiss, breaking it and placing his lips onto her neck, making her sigh.

"Harry, do you remember anything?"

"Yes, how much I love you." He murmured between kisses.

"No, I mean, do you remember?"

He stopped, pushing himself up above her. He stroked her gentle cheek and his lips curved into an easy smile.

"I wish I could say yes, Ginny, but I don't want to lie to you."

She seemed upset by this, but brightened as Harry's lips found hers once again. He grinned, rolling over and pulling her on top of him.

"Okay, so what are we going to do today?"

"I'm taking you to Burns." She announced softly, her fingers tracing his lips. He pushed her away, sitting up against the headboard.

"Ginny, I'm not leaving."

"Harry-"

"No, listen, this is the life I want." He said forcefully.

"No it isn't Harry and you know it."

"Maybe your Harry doesn't want this, but this Harry does. I like my friends, I like the way we live, I like waking up one day and saying I feel like going to France and not having to worry about anything tying me down."

Ginny gazed at him intensely, reading his emotions. Then she sighed, crawling out of bed. Harry watched silently as she gathered her clothes, dressing herself. He had had an amazing night, but it didn't matter now that he had had an atrocious morning.

"Look, I'm going back to school Sunday. I want to see you again, and help you remember." She held his hand, squeezing it gently.

Harry ripped it away. "Maybe I don't want to remember." He whispered.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Ginny left without another word. Harry didn't move even after he heard the sound of the door open and close. He knew he shouldn't have said that to Ginny, but he snorted; he didn't know her, what did it matter?

_A hell of a lot, mate._

_I like my life._

_You probably like that life too._

_Shame I don't remember it, huh?_

Smirking at his last sarcastic thought, Harry untangled himself from the sheets and went to take a shower, hoping to wash away Ginny so he could ignore the overwhelming feeling he got at the smell of her sweet skin.

"Harry?"

As he got out of the steamy shower, Harry heard the familiar voice of Tyson and he stuck his head out of his room, seeing his friend sitting on the couch.

"One second, Ty."

"'kay."

Harry dressed quickly and paused when he noticed the necklace on the floor; it must've been Ginny's. He swiped it up and dropped it on his dresser, deciding he would find a way to get it back to her eventually. Perhaps he could mail it or something.

"How does Paris sound?" Tyson asked, his head in a magazine.

"I was just thinking about France." Harry muttered, walking into the kitchen, feeling the pull in his stomach for food.

He found an old container of Chinese in the back of the fridge and began eating it as he sat down beside Tyson. His friend remained silent, flipping through the magazine comfortably, without a care in the world. Harry envied him so much. Tyson lived how he wanted without having to deal with the constant ideal life being shoved upon him. Harry wasn't bitter, he was just lost and wanted to stick with what he knew.

Tyson eventually dropped the magazine and looked up at Harry, sighing. His forehead wrinkled and his eyes tight, Ty leaned back on the couch, pondering something intensely for several long, slightly agonizing minutes.

"Yep, we could definitely scrounge up enough cash to make it to Paris. I got a buddy there who would let us crash at his flat." He turned to Harry.

"When do we leave?"

***

"Ah, the smell of France!"

"Ah, the smell of your vodka breath!" Maddi smacked Casen on the back of the head as they stumbled down the street.

Harry felt very light from the several bottles of wine he and Maddi had shared together and he knew the others were feeling much better than him, having spent more time at the bar. The air was cool and Harry knew he was probably a real sight to see. His hair was a jumbled mess of auburn and black, the auburn streak mixing randomly with the rest of his natural colored hair now that it had grown out nearly an inch, falling just over his forehead now.

Tyson was walking slowly, smoking his last cigarette of the night. He had a distant look in his eyes and Harry knew he had been enjoying more than alcohol that night. Dave had an arm around Kyle and was humming a random tune, a near-empty beer bottle in his hand.

"Be nice to me, Maddi, I'm going to be the Prime Minister one day." Casen slurred, licking his lips.

"I'm sure you will, Case." Maddi yawned, leaning her head on Harry's shoulder. "I want to go to bed now."

"We're a block away." Tyson said from behind his friends, his voice sounding distant just as his eyes appeared. Harry was the most sober amongst them and was the only who noticed.

When they made it to the basement flat, Tyson fumbled for his keys and after several failed attempts he managed to get the door open. They all piled in, landing in their make-shift beds. Casen landed flat on the ground with a musty pillow and blanket, Dave and Kyle each had a squashy lounge chair and Tyson crashed on the dusty, red couch. Harry shared the fold-out couch with Maddi, where he landed gracefully, covering his head with a pillow.

He felt Maddi land beside him, rolling over to her respective side and falling asleep almost instantly. No words were ever exchanged as, slowly, Harry heard the collective heavy breathing of every person in the room. He counted each pattern of breathing and removed the pillow covering his eyes when he didn't hear Tyson's.

He looked over to the small couch Ty slept on and found it empty. Harry stood up, barely feeling the wine at this point. He walked outside, into the alley, looking for Tyson. He was smoking a fresh cigarette, staring out at the quiet streets of Paris.

"What are you doing out here, Ty?"

He took a long drag, releasing a puff of smoke. "Life is complicated isn't it, Harry?"

"You have no idea." Harry sighed, leaning against the brick building.

"I love Paris." Tyson smiled, licking his bottom lip, his eyes still staring out at the silent street. Harry ran a hand through his hair, looking at his friend.

"The reason I actually came here was this." Tyson pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper, handing it to Harry.

Harry read it and looked up sharply at Ty. "What does this mean?"

"Castor Tuscan has been out to get me for years. His little gang, the Midnight Riders," Tyson snorted. "Basically if they want you dead, you better get out of the country fast if you want a chance at survival."

"What are you going to do?"

"We fight back."

"Ty, they want to kill you, this is a death threat." Harry held up the letter.

"What do you want me to do about? Run off like a scared little girl? No, I'm going to fight back."

"They're going to kill you, Tyson, all of us."

"Us? Oh, no, you're staying away from us for a few weeks."

"No!"

"Yes!" Tyson glared at Harry intensely.

"I am not going to stand around while my friends are off getting themselves killed! I'm going with you and that's that." He hissed, stepping closer to his friend.

"Fine." Tyson took several more drags on his cigarette before dropping it. He walked back to the flat, leaving Harry to follow him.

Harry didn't sleep well that night. Two nights ago he had been in the arms of a beautiful woman and now he was facing his friends' possible murders. It made no sense. Why did this Castor have such a huge problem with Tyson and his friends? Maddi had told him once that there were several crews that hung around London; theirs' was just one of the many. Obviously these Midnight Riders were something to be feared if Tyson had run all the way France.

The next morning, Harry woke up to everyone gone, leaving behind a short note. Harry read it quickly and then threw it down, angry. They had gone back to London. Without him. Tyson may have been trying to save him, but Harry didn't want to be saved, he wanted to stand beside his friends, where he belonged.

He locked the flat up, stashing the keys in the gap on the wall where a brick had been blown out. He couldn't believe they would go to such extremes to keep him safe. This only made him more determined to get London in time.

He managed to catch the very last train out of Paris and had arranged a flight in Lille. He should make it to London by that night, hopefully before Tyson and the others met their doom at the hands of Castor Tuscan. The entire train ride, Harry stared out the window, ignoring the wonderful landscape of France. He sat alone in his compartment, his thoughts on his friends.

How would they even defend themselves? Harry knew Tyson wouldn't just hand himself over and neither would the others. Then he remembered it. The closet.

"_Don't open that door, Harry."_

"_Why?"_

_Tyson took a sip of his beer. "That closet has some personal items in it. I don't want you messing with them."_

"_I wouldn't mess with them."_

"_I know, but still, just don't go in there, okay?"_

Harry had disregarded the closet but now it all made sense. Tyson kept his guns in there. He had mentioned before that he was rather familiar with them and had at one point carried one for protection. Harry hadn't questioned if he still had any, but now he knew.

This was more than a grudge between two men. It was a gang war. And Harry was joining in for his friends. He had never even seen a gun in person. Suddenly the train ride seemed incredibly slow and Harry remembered every single breath he took and every scent he smelled. He listened to the sounds of the world, from the cries of a baby several compartments away to the rushing sound of the wind as it passed over the train. He remembered every bit of his journey.

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**A/N:** The next chapter will be a while, partly because these chapters take a lot longer to write and I also keep lots of stories going. But I tend to write for whatever story is getting the most reviews :)


	8. Chapter 8

Ginny Weasley was sitting in her dormitory alone, staring out the window. She had entrusted her flat to George who was checking up on it every few days. Rain was beginning to splatter across the glass and Ginny sighed, pressing her forehead to its cool surface.

She had been with Harry three nights ago. It had been the first time they had been together in far too many months. She hadn't been shocked at all by his change in appearance. It had been odd seeing him without his glasses when he had been in St. Mungo's, but now it seemed like nothing surprised her anymore.

She had written to Burns, telling him about where Harry was living. Burns had gone there yesterday and nobody had been there. He had talked to the landlord who said it wasn't uncommon for Harry to vanish for as long as a month. He could be anywhere with those friends of his.

"Ginny?"

She whipped her head around to see Hermione looking down at her, concern etched in her face. Ginny turned away, looking back out the window.

"I know this must be hard, but you should have known this would happen. He still doesn't remember."

"I know, Hermione." Ginny murmured.

"Look on the bright side; he remembers how he feels about you. That has to count for something, right?"

Ginny smiled weakly. "Yes, I suppose so." Sighing, she looked back up at her friend. "Aren't you supposed to be sneaking off into Hogsmeade to snog my brother or something?"

Hermione immediately went red with embarrassment. "I certainly am not. That's against the rules. The trouble I could get in…"

Ginny laughed, looking back to the window. Harry would come back to her…someday.

***

"Tyson!"

Harry ripped open the door to the building he had once considered a home. The building was in the same state they had left it in, guitars standing in all the same places, the empty beer cans were still lying crushed on the kitchen floor. The only thing that had changed was the closet, with its door hanging wide open.

Stepping over to it, he found the entire closet nearly empty. A small, black case was tucked in the very back corner of the minute space. He pulled it out, setting it down on the kitchen table. Harry sighed, observing the case. It was sleek, showing no signs of wear or damage. The gang clearly knew what they were doing.

He slowly unclipped the silver latches on either side of the handle, anticipation building. He had seen cases like this in the numerous films he had watched, snuggled up with Maddi and throwing popcorn at Casen and Kyle. Those memories seemed like years ago.

Carefully, he opened the case, revealing the black, hand gun. It wasn't small, stretching a good six, or seven inches in length. Four cartridges of ammunition were tucked in safely beside it. Harry lifted his hand, hovering above the weapon. It was so simple. All he had to do was load, point and shoot. It was easier than _Avada Kedavra_.

What was going to happen? What if he just stayed right here in this old building, swarmed with memories of his friends. What if he did remember? Harry had spent months, sitting beside Burns, reading a book that was supposed to tell him what his life had meant to the world? And then there was Ginny, he loved her, didn't he? What would she have said? Hermione and Ron? Did any of the Weasleys even know what a gun was? And then there was the biggest question of all:

What would his old self had said in this situation?

Harry immediately swiped up the gun, tucking it into his jeans, so the gun poked at his back. He shoved the cartridges into pockets of his jeans and his jacket, ensuring their safety. Positive of his decision, Harry flew out the door, leaving the building he had so many memories, the most precious possessions he carried, for the very last time.

***

_I am going to die._

The thought was all Tyson could comprehend as he rode alongside his friends, their bikes in perfect sync. Their bikes had been specifically painted different colors. His bike was blue, Casen's was purple, Kyle's was red, Dave's was orange, Maddi's was yellow…Harry's was green.

The Midnight Riders had black bikes, making them the most discreet gang, as well as the most dangerous. Ty's history with them all seeded from Castor Tuscan. Oddly enough, Castor had been the best friend Ty had ever had…

"_What are we going to do with you, Tys?" Castor chuckled, his blue eyes glimmering in the sunlight._

_They were no older than sixteen. Tyson was still living at home with his mother. Castor had lived in the flat next door with his brother, Jasper. It was how it all began._

_Picking himself off the grass, Tyson shook with laughter, looking at his friend. They were sitting in the old back field of the local high school. They truly lived in the worst of the worst. The buildings were crumbling, their school was more of drug cartel, and on every block a group of cops surrounded a bloodied, chalk outline on the sidewalk._

_Castor lit up a cigarette, sighing as a police car sped past, sirens blaring. "One day, you and me will get out of here."_

_Tyson patted off the dirt from his ripped jeans. "How do you propose we do that?"_

_Castor looked directly at Tyson, his brown eyes filled with an expression Tyson had never seen before, and it scared him._

"_The same way Digger got out."_

***

Harry increased his speed as he turned down a back street. He had been riding around London for hours now, with no idea as to where he was going. He had no second doubts with his decision to take the gun and aid his friends; it was the right thing to do.

A red light ceased his high speeds and stared on at the glowing red shining in the darkness…

"_Look at that sunset, it's so beautiful." Ginny leaned into Harry, sighing in content._

"_I don't think I've ever seen one so red." He looked down at her, placing a kiss on the top of her head. They had been lying there by the lake for hours, watching the water lilies float by peacefully. Everybody had left the castle for a break now that construction was finally over, making the pair the only people around._

"_What do you think you're going to do now that…he's gone?" She asked._

_Harry shrugged. "I still think I want to be an Auror. I guess the whole saving people thing never goes away. I think I could be good at it."_

"_You could. Maybe not when it came to following the law, but you'd still make a fantastic Auror."_

"_And what about you? What do you want to do after school?"_

"_Honestly? I'd love to play professional Quidditch."_

"_Ginny Weasley, starting chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. I'll have Slughorn set you up with Gwenog Jones." He snorted, brushing away a stray lock of hair from her face._

"_Hey!" she giggled, flattening herself so her head was resting in his lap comfortably. "After I play for a while, I'd like to get married and have a few kids, and spend the rest of my life with no more evil wizards killing us."_

_Harry bent over, kissing her nose and cheek. "Sounds perfect. Can I join in that future?"_

"_It wouldn't be a real future without you, now would it?" She whispered, pulling his head down to allow their lips to meet…_

The loud honks sounding from behind Harry pulled him out of his memory flash. He immediately flew down the street, weaving in and out of cars. He was feeling older and older as the moments passed. What was going to happen when he remembered who he was? The person he really was inside? How would he change? He couldn't imagine being able to do all those things Burns had told him that he had done. Half of them didn't even sound plausible.

Diverting his thoughts to his current task, he tried to think of every location in London he had been to with the gang, wondering if they had given him any hints whatsoever. They were on friendly terms with a few other groups in the city, but they wouldn't help Harry…Or would they?

It didn't take him long to make it to the old mechanics shop, tucked away deep in the tall buildings of the city; nobody could find it without turning down an old alley and making a left. Most people didn't make it that far because of its looming presence. The old shop was the hang-out of a group of street racers that Tyson helped out occasionally; they rarely left their shop.

Sure enough, six of them were parked outside on their bikes. They all turned as Harry pulled up, turning off his bike.

"You're Tyson's friend, right?" One of them asked; Harry nodded. The man turned around, shouting. "Rick, we got a buddy of Tyson Muller out here!"

A thin, familiar, red headed man appeared, grease caking his hands and smeared on his cheeks. "Ay, Harry m'boy, what can I do you for you?"

"Where can I find the Midnight Riders?"

Everyone seemed to freeze, the question hanging in the air, supported by the tension. Rick looked down at the dirtied white towel he was cleaning his hands with. After a few moments, he sighed, looking back up at Harry with a somber face.

"Ty went after Tuscan, didn't he?" Harry nodded numbly.

"You know that old construction site on the edge of the city?" He paused, waiting for Harry to nod in response. "Well, I can guarantee the fight's going to go down there. Ty's not that stupid, he's going to play at every advantage he can get and that half-built building is perfect."

Harry nodded again, thinking about the tall steel frame. Only half the walls were built and the property was surrounded by a tall wood fence. It was a risky place to be; one trip and you could fall off the fifth or sixth story.

"Let me know what happens, okay Harry?" Rick seemed extremely worried. "I'd like to help you guys, but…" He sighed. "I can't risk my guys like that."

"I understand, Rick. Tyson wouldn't want you to come. He doesn't even want me there."

"Be careful, mate."

Harry smiled at Rick one last time before leaving. It was nearly midnight and he hoped he wouldn't be too late. Once he was riding along an empty street, he pushed his speed to nearly double the limit, feeling the wind rip by him…

_He could hear the frantic shouts sounding from below him as he flew higher and higher, weaving and increasing his speed as fast as his Nimbus would go._

_He had no idea what was going on with this bludger. He didn't fancy the idea of getting hit. He had spent plenty of time in the hospital wing the past two years and he certainly did not fancy yet another trip. Pomfry would…_

Harry shook free of the memory flash, growing more and more scared by them. The last time he had this many had been at the Dursley's. He rode on, knowing he was coming closer and closer to the construction site and midnight, when he knew, without a doubt, would be when the fight would begin. He felt the gun poking at his back, and he had no desire to use it. But he wasn't going to just abandon his friends…

"_Harry, stop trying to get out of this. We're going with you."_

_Harry shook his head. "Hermione, I can't let you and Ron take that kind of a risk. This is my fight."_

"_Mate, we're in this together. We're going with you. End of story."_

_Harry smiled at his two friends. "I guess you're coming then."_

A brand new wood fence lined the property, standing at least ten feet tall. Harry parked his bike behind a trash can, glancing around to find the area completely deserted.

He went around to the gate of the fence, finding the lock lying in the dirt, broken. He eased the gate open and slipped inside, the only light coming from the moon. Construction equipment and piles of dirt and metal beams cluttered the area.

Harry heard the shuffling of feet and several voices. He silently sneaked towards the pile of scrap metal. Looking over the top of the pile, he found himself facing a group of nine or so men, all bearing various guns.

"Come on, Tuscan, let's do this."

"Shut it, Hendrix." The man growled in response. Castor Tuscan had short blond hair and dark eyes. He was about Tyson's height.

"He's right though, we need to get rid of this git. He's been a pain in my arse for years." Tuscan sighed, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

"You see, boys, this is my city. And I intend to keep it. This means that I need to get rid of anyone who attempts to get in my way." He walked to a graffiti covered trash can, holding his lighter above it.

"And Tyson Muller is in my way." He murmured, dropping the lighter into the can where flames immediately shot up, lighting up the half-built building.

Tuscan pulled out a large, silver gun from his back, loading in fresh ammunition. He glanced around, sending the others to do the same.

Harry ducked down, moving close to the ground. He trotted inside the first floor of the building, the only one with walls surrounding its exterior. The elevator doors were open and Harry stepped inside, traveling up to the roof. When the doors opened, he saw all five of his friends, guns pointed right at Harry.

"Harry!" Maddi flew to him, hugging him fiercely. "What are you doing here?" She demanded after breaking away.

"You shouldn't be here." Ty marched up to him, his expression full of anger.

"I'm not abandoning my friends."

"Get out of here, Potter." Dave spat, glaring at him.

"Listen, I have every right to help whomever I want." Harry growled.

"Tyson? Oh, baby Tyson? Come out come out, wherever you are…"

Panic flared up in Tyson eyes for a moment as he shoved Harry back in the elevator, closing the doors before Harry had a chance to speak. He tried to get off at the next floor, but Tyson had sent him to the ground floor, where he'd be safe.

Harry immediately sent the elevator back up, but it refused to go to the roof, stopping at the seventh floor. He stepped off, gunfire sounding around him as he was thrown to the concrete.

"Damn it, Harry!" Kyle was bleeding intensely from his left arm, the blood smeared all over his clothes and even on his face.

"I told you, I'm not leaving." Harry told him, pulling out the gun from his back.

Kyle stared at the gun and then at him for a moment. "Look, the two guys shooting at us? That's Trevor Jenson and Mike Hart. I can take care of them. Dave and Casen can also take care of themselves. Ty's taking on Tuscan and while Maddi is plenty capable, she could never handle taking on two. Especially considering they're most likely going to burn the building. It's just their style." He glanced over around the corner, whipping his head back around swiftly as several shots zipped past them.

"I'll cover you. Go help the others."

Harry nodded, making to run out when Kyle held him back, his eyes glassy. "Thanks Harry. For everything, don't forget about me, eh?" He cracked a smile.

"Kyle, you're going to be fine." Harry told him firmly.

"Take care, mate. Now go!" Kyle stepped out, opening fire immediately. Harry moved behind him, shooting several times, sending one of the men to the ground. He found himself at the entrance of the stairs.

He turned back to call for Kyle, only to find all three men lying on the ground, unmoving. "Kyle!" He shouted. No response.

He ran to his fallen friend, a second shot had entered his chest, killing him. Harry closed Kyle's eyes, gently. Pain ripped through him as the image of Remus and Tonks filled his mind. He was remembering too much today and he wasn't pleased at all by it.

Leaving Kyle's body he raced back to the stairs. He went downstairs, finding Dave and Casen holding off four men, one of which was throwing small, homemade bombs at the piles of metal and equipment they were ducking behind. Harry went down another floor, finding Maddi hiding in the stairwell, blood seeping through her jeans.

"Harry." She stared up at him, tears falling down her face. "I got one, but the other should be coming any second." She whispered. "You have to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving, Maddi." Harry wiped away her tears.

He glanced around the wall, spotting a man kneeling over another, covered in blood. He was vulnerable; he could make the shot from here. He raised the gun, and then lowered it. He looked down at Maddi who let out an empty laugh.

"You could never kill unless you had to. You're pure, Harry. Me, I'm not and haven't been for years." She shook her head. "Help me up."

He did as she asked, holding her up. She grabbed her gun, directing it at the kneeling man. "Stupid man." She murmured, before pulling the trigger.

"I'm getting you out of here." Harry hoisted her up, her arms winding around his neck.

He carried her down a flight of stairs, to the empty floor below. Placing her in the elevator, he kissed her on the cheek. "Be careful, Harry." She smiled weakly.

"I'll be back." He whispered, closing the doors.

Harry went back to the stairs, hearing complete silence as he journeyed to the roof. Opening the door, he held out his gun, greeted Tyson, Dave and Casen. Who were standing together, staring at Tuscan and the two men Dave and Casen had been fighting it out with.

"How's Kyle and Maddi?" Tyson's voice was low and he didn't even turn as Harry stepped forward.

"Maddi's wounded. I got her to an elevator and she should be safe on the ground floor now. Kyle's…" He trailed off, unable to say it aloud.

"Kyle." Casen closed his eyes briefly, opening them again to glare at the three opposing men.

Tuscan stepped forward, twirling his gun around his finger. "Come on, Tyson, risking your crew like that? Tsk, tsk, whatever will we do with you?"

"Castor, must we be so dramatic?" Ty responded dryly.

"Leaks, take care of the green haired one." Tuscan snapped his fingers.

Leaks was the large man with short brown hair. He was nearly twice the size of Dave as he moved forward. Casen stepped away, his fingers hovering in the air, ready to grab at his gun. Suddenly Leaks lunged for Dave, sending them both to the ground.

Casen pulled his gun, firing it several times at the man beside Tuscan who was sent flailing over the edge, a sickening thud sounding when his body hit the ground, eight stories below. Harry pulled his gun, pointing it at the entangled Leaks and Dave.

Tuscan and Tyson hadn't moved from their stances, both sets of eyes drilling into the other's. Harry watched them both carefully, thinking over what had just occurred. Casen was still watching the struggle on the ground

It was as though the silence between Tuscan and Tyson was painful. Suddenly, everything happened at once. Gunshots fired rapidly. Casen was barreled over by Leaks, sending him into the elevator. Leaks slapped the button to close the doors before Casen even realized what was happening. The doors came down with Casen's legs still out of the elevator. Harry turned away before he even heard his friend's painful screams.

He aimed his gun at Leaks, who knocked it out his hand, sending it flying over the edge of the roof. Dave stood up shakily, having been knocked out momentarily by Leaks. He slugged Leaks right in the back of the head, causing the large man to turn back to Dave.

Harry watched as the two men threw punch after punch, kicking and shoving as they went. They approached the edge, coming dangerously close to falling.

Harry turned around to see Tuscan and Tyson firing at one another, ducking behind trash cans and any other thing that could provide protection from the bullets. Harry clutched his head, pain overwhelming him as memories flooded in.

"Harry! Go!" Tyson brought him out of his state with his frantic shouts.

Harry watched as Dave and Leaks's struggle grew more violent. Then in one failed punch, they both fell over the edge of the roof. Suddenly the gunfire ceased. Harry turned his head, trying to keep his eyes open, Memories of battles, Hogwarts and Ginny.

"Harry?" He heard Tyson's heavy breathing in the distance, darkness beginning to overcome him.

"I remember."


	9. Chapter 9

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_**A/N:** _I apologize for any grammar/spelling errors, I wanted to get this chapter posted so I didn't read through it too many times. Thanks for the reviews, they're amazing :)

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_**Chapter Nine**_

_**Part II**_

**_***_**

_The room suddenly disappeared and Harry found himself in a wet shack. A hot fire was burning and on the dusty sofa sat a man several times Harry's size. His beard and hair blended together, long and wild and his coat looked like it could be the sheet of a king-sized bed. A family of three sat cowering together, a rather fat man with a thick mustache and a tall, blonde woman who kept a firm grasp on her fair haired, pudgy son. The giant man was looking with wide eyes at the small boy in front of him. The boy had round glasses and messy, jet black hair. His emerald eyes held a slight sense of fear, and he seemed surprisingly calm for a boy his size to be standing before a man so large. The giant spoke, his voice rough and as large as his size. "Harry-yer a wizard." _

_***_

"_I'm Healer Burns, you took a nasty hit to the head, mate."_

_Healer Burns looked at the man in the bed, who remained silent, his eyes curious. The healer began to wave his hand in front of the man's face, concern etched in his eyes._

"_Follow my finger, please, Mr. Potter." He followed Healer Burns's finger cooperatively, but the same curious expression remained._

"_Are you all right, Mr. Potter?"_

_***_

"_Harry, where are you taking me?" Her laugh was like velvet, soft and smooth, vibrating through the air._

"_Love, if I tell you, it would destroy the surprise and we don't want that now do we?" He kept his hands firmly over her eyes and he laughed to himself as he steered her through the night air. He led her towards the still lake._

"_Here we are." He breathed, pressing his lips to her neck. He planted a trail of kisses all the way along her neck, to her ear._

"_Mmm…" She sighed contently. "I wish we didn't have to keep this a secret still."_

"_I know, but we need take care of everything else first. Then, we'll have the energy to deal with the reporters. Now, let me show you where you are." Harry removed his hands and she laughed._

"_I should have known."_

"_You should have. How many places do I take you as a surprise?"_

"_Quite a few." Ginny giggled, sitting down beside the water's edge. _

_He sank down beside her, pulling her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and breathed in her scent as they watched the water lilies float along the water's surface, reflecting in the moonlight._

"_I love you." He rested his chin on her shoulder and nuzzled deeper into her neck, pressing kisses to her soft skin._

"_I love you too." She turned her body around in his lap and kissed him, her fingers grasping locks of hi messy hair, while his hands rang up and down his back. He pulled her down with him, so they were lying on the ground together, locked in the kiss, neither one of them wanting to break it._

"_This is perfect." She breathed after they pulled their lips apart._

"_It will be even more perfect in a few years." He grinned._

"_Why?"_

"_Because, my wonderful fiancé, we will be married by then." He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear._

"_Only because I said yes." She teased._

_Harry chuckled. "Only because I asked. I just can't wait to give you the ring." He leaned his head upward and kissed her chin, moving along her neck._

"_I can't wait either." _

_They sat up and stared out across the still water. Harry began humming softly in her ear; it was a sweet love song he'd heard in muggle London. _

_Smiling he began to change the lyrics. "And water lilies on the lake…you're in my arms and it's not too late…Baby, I'm yours…"_

_***_

_He heard feet approaching the door and he could hear voices, only able to identify Burns'. "I'm warning you that in his mind he's six years old. And ignore this, it's just a toy."_

_The door opened and Harry roared, firing the gun as Burns stepped inside with a gun of his own, firing purple foam darts at Harry. Harry stood up on his bed and continued shooting, laughing madly and completely ignoring the crowd of people gathered outside the door, looking on with curious eyes._

_Harry ran out of darts first and ducked beneath his pillow while Burns used his remaining ammunition. "I surrender!" Harry laughed, his voice muffled by the pillow._

_***_

"_Not anytime soon." He smiled at his arguing friends._

"_I'm so tired of these stupid OWLs."_

"_Want a distraction?" Harry raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Ronald, I will not write anymore of your essays! How will you ever pass your NEWTs?"_

_Hermione glared at the redhead who merely shrugged. "I'll wing it?"_

"_Don't think that'll work too well, Ron." Harry smirked at the comment made by the fiery redheaded girl in his lap._

"_Ginny, just study for your OWLs, please." Ron snapped at his sister who rolled her eyes, turning to Harry._

"_Think they'll ever get together?"_

"_Yes."_

"_When?"_

"_Mr. Potter, what are you insinuating?" She giggled. Not giving him a chance to answer, she lowered her lips to his._

_He felt his heart pound and every part of his body felt her and only her. He wound his hand in her long, sweet-smelling hair and pulled her as close as he could. He sighed into the kiss as she ran her own hands into his messy hair._

"_OI! Not in front of us, please!"_

_They broke apart to see Ron glaring down at them. Hermione had a book in her lap and was perched on the floor beside an armchair._

"_Just because Lavender's the only kissing you've had…" She rolled her eyes, leaving Ron's mouth hanging open._

_Harry laughed into Ginny's neck and felt a sense of peace enter him; he was happy._

_***_

"_You're pretty, Hermione." Everyone laughed slightly at the youthful comment and the last person came. It was the red-headed girl._

"_Wow! You're really, really pretty!" He gasped, moving as close to her as his shyness allowed. She giggled._

"_I'm Ginny."_

"_I'm Harry." He grinned, all his teeth showing. "Wanna play with me?"_

_George snorted, earning him a slap from his mother, followed by two more, from Hermione and Bill even._

_***_

"_Harry?"_

"_Ron?"_

_Harry rolled his eyes, throwing the Quaffle directly at the left hoop. Ron caught it easily, not even paying attention._

"_What do you think of Lavender?"_

"_Er…She's, you know, Lavender." He did his best to sound convincing, but he knew he had failed miserably._

_Ron sighed. "I know what you mean. But the snogging's amazing."_

_Harry gagged inwardly. "Yeah, sure…"_

"_But that's all there is, she's not like Hermione who would have an actually conversation."_

"_No, she's not Hermione, Ron." Harry smirked, throwing another shot at the middle hoop, and Ron caught it without even looking this time._

"_What should I do?"_

"_Play like this at the next game. I think I'll have Luna compare Lavender and Hermione for you."_

"_What?" Ron asked as he caught the last Quaffle._

_Harry started laughing, leaning over his broom. Ron was his best mate, no matter how stupid he was._

_***_

"_Burns? Burns…Yo Dawson!"_

_Burns jumped in his chair, waking up to find a familiar man standing above him. He stared at the healer with a very unhappy look on his face._

"_Harry…" Burns growled._

"_I'm bored!"_

"_I liked you better when you were six." Burns snapped, looking down at the paperwork he had fallen asleep over._

_***_

"_All right, deal the cards, Mooney."_

"_Then give me the deck, Sirius."_

_Remus swiped the cards from Sirius, rolling his eyes. He went around twice, going one card at a time. Tonks winked at Harry once she got her hand. Hermione studied it for several moments, most likely counting cards. Kingsley had to swat Sirius away when the man tried peeking at his hand._

"_I flip." Ron pushed his cards away._

"_It's fold, Ronald." Hermione told him. "And I do too."_

"_Sorry, I'm not aware of muggle games." He scoffed._

"_You are so irrational. Just because you haven't won a game yet, Ron…"_

_Ron rolled his eyes and stood up, leaving the kitchen. Hermione followed him, still lecturing him about muggle card games._

"_Glad they finally left." Sirius remarked, eyeing his cards._

"_Hopefully they'll be snogging by the end of the night." Tonks smirked._

"_Don't hold your breath." Harry laughed, making the first bet._

"_Speaking of snogging, Harry, you getting anything at Hogwarts?" Sirius raised his eyebrows._

"_Oh, yes, if I remember during my run as professor, I caught numerous girls gushing about the handsome, famous Harry Potter." Remus smirked._

"_I'm sure you have plenty of girls, right Harry?" Tonks smiled, clearly wanting details._

"_I…err…"_

"_Please tell me my godson has gotten just a little action in the broom closets?"_

"_I'd rather not, share that…" Harry glued his eyes to his cards, making the next bet._

"_You know Harry; my parents live next door to this wonderful couple." Tonks stated._

"_That's nice." He replies, grateful for a change in conversation._

"_Yes, they have a daughter, she's a ravenclaw."_

"_Oh." Harry felt his stomach fall._

"_Yeah, I enjoy visiting with her when I'm over there. You know, see how Hogwarts is and all the gossip."_

"_Yeah." Harry began blushing; Tonks knew._

"_So, are you going to ask Cho out this year?" She gushed, putting her elbows on the table._

"_A ravenclaw?" Sirius smacked harry across the back. "They're smart and pretty. Is she any good?"_

"_Harry wouldn't know, the little chicken." Tonks said._

"_Don't bug the poor kid." Remus told them, smiling nonetheless._

"_I remember when I was his age, I had my first kiss in my fourth year. Vivian Gates." Kingsley mused._

"_All right Kingsley, nobody cares about your former love life." Sirius laughed, throwing down his hands._

"_Twenty, beat that!"_

"_I'm out." Remus sighed._

"_Me too." Kingsley threw down his cards._

"_I only got eighteen." Tonks muttered, dropping her cards._

"_All right, godson, be a good sport."_

_Harry stood up. "I'm off to bed."_

"_Hey, your hand!" Sirius balked._

"_Oh, yeah." He overturned his cards revealing an ace and a king. "Twenty-one, I win." He smirked._

_***_

"_Any chance I can have one of those beers." Harry smirked._

"_I got you, mate." A voice came from the kitchen. He was hidden in the refrigerator, so Harry only saw his jeans and wrinkled white T-shirt._

_When he did rise up, however, he carried two beers and Harry was surprised to see his arms covered in tattoos. His hair was purposeful messy and was black with bright red tips. He handed Harry a beer and shook his hand._

"_I'm Tyson."_

_***_

"_It's my amazing eyes and perfectly messy hair." Harry smirked. "I'm glad I got that haircut, the ladies seem to like it better." He ran a hand through his shorter hair that barely grazed the tips of his ears and exposed his scar._

"_They even find the scar attractive, like I'm tough or something."_

"_According to your friends, you always hated having people looking at it."_

"_I don't remember my life, so it doesn't exactly matter, now does it?" Harry pointed out._

"_True."_

_Harry sighed as they stepped on the train to travel across London to the agency. He was eager to get the license, knowing Burns would finally ease up on him and let him leave the house. But he was unsure about the Dursleys, but if they were rude he could leave, he was eighteen after all._

***

"Harry?"

It felt just as it had when he had woken up in St. Mungo's less than a year ago, with the exception of knowing nothing. His mind was foggy and he had an intense headache, even the slightest rustle of the sheets nearly made him want to wince in pain. He tried to ease his eyes open, but the light flooding in surged pain through him, causing him to shut them immediately.

Harry heard the quiet movement of a chair pushed along the floor and the sound of footsteps. He heard a slight click and then he eased his eyes back open a bit to find the room in near total darkness.

"Better?" It was Dawson. "Can you understand me, Harry?"

He felt a hand close around his wrist and he felt it twitch slightly at the cold skin. He allowed a few minutes to slip by before he moved his hand purposely, rolling it to the side very slightly. It was all he could muster up at the moment, but it was plenty of movement for Dawson to know Harry understood him.

Thoughts were being sifted through his mind at a painfully slow rate. He felt as if he had been split in half and his brain was struggling to live without the other piece. _Maybe this is how George felt losing Fred…_

That single thought sent a new wave of emotion through him; he remembered. Everything. A few hot tears rolled down his cheeks. He tried to take in another breath, but found himself choking, not getting any air. Something was in the way and he struggled to push it out of his throat. Two hands pushed him down.

"Don't try to breath, don't do anything, Harry, it's okay, just go back to sleep." At Burns' voice he froze, his whole body relaxing.

Harry had no idea what was going on. He remembered the sounds of gunfire and that he had lost his memory…but he was so confused. Nothing fit together. He finally took notice of the hand that remained of his shoulder.

"I know you're confused, but just go back to sleep. I'm not leaving, little brother…" The emotions streaming through his mind couldn't even process themselves half fast enough. A sharp prick somewhere along his arm barely registered in his mind as he slowly felt sleep reclaim him.

By the time Harry felt consciousness return, the pain thundering in his head had subsided thankfully. Especially now that several voices were conversing in hushed manners, clearly for his benefit. He was unsure of how to even try and speak again, his mind still feeling extremely foggy, but he could understand the words being exchanged around him.

"Are you sure he was awake, Healer?"

"Mrs. Weasley, I know you have little confidence in me, but I'm not insane, he was awake. I even had to sedate him again because he was fighting the breathing tube."

"Are you sure it's wise to use that muggle contraption on him?" Harry felt slightly shocked at Molly's harsh tone, but he remembered the negativity that the Weasley family probably held towards Dawson due to the past year or so.

"Molly, muggles live just fine using this stuff, Harry's going to be fine on it." If he could smile he would have, because he was deeply overjoyed hearing Hermione's voice.

Molly sighed. "I know, but he's been gone for so long with no memory and now this coma. It's been hard for all of us, even Ginny's been in a state over this situation and she wasn't even that close to Harry."

It had never really occurred to Harry that the only Weasleys aware of his relationship with Ginny was her obviously and Ron. Well, they'll be thrilled to hear they're engaged…

"How are his friends?" Ron asked, nervousness laced within his voice.

"Madi is doing very well, as is Casen. It's a good thing we got to them. Casen wouldn't have his legs anymore if he had been taken to a muggle hospital."

"Come along everyone, let's leave Harry be," said Arthur in a gentle voice.

Harry waited until the shuffling of feet were gone and the door was closed shut. He attempted to lift his hand to signal Burns, the movement coming out as a mere twitching motion. Burns must have been watching because Harry immediately felt the man move close to him.

"I have the lights off, try and open your eyes, Harry." He spoke in almost a whisper, clearing feeling the suspense for Harry to prove he was still fully functional.

After several attempts, he finally opened them wide, leaving them that way. He could just make out the shape of Burns' head. He relaxed more, this time glancing around to find himself in the familiar room he had lived in for so long. Glancing down at himself, he was back in the usually blue cotton pants and white T-shirt. Looking down slightly, he realized the cause of the breathing issue, a tube was coming from his mouth, held on with white tape. A thinner tube was lodged in his forearm, held on by more tape.

"Would you like the breathing tube out? You should be able to breathe on your own since you're awake." Dawson removed the tape. "Hang on, I need a bit of light, you can close your eyes if you need to."

The moment he lit his wand, Harry slammed his eyes shut. He felt a pulling rise from his throat and the flow of oxygen was cut off suddenly. "Cough, Harry." Harry did as Burns said, and felt the tube in his mouth and then opened his eyes again.

"How do you feel?" He sat back down in his chair.

Harry let his head fall back on the pillow, feeling spent. He took in several deep breaths before he regained himself, looking at Burns. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. He fought to find a way to talk again, but he felt as if he was right back to where he was the first time he woke up in this room.

"Perhaps you could write it?" Burns pulled a pen from his pocket and removed a pad of paper from Harry's bedside table, handing it to his young friend.

He had no idea if it would work, but as Harry held the pen and pad in his hand he secretly prayed it would. Pressing the pen to the paper, he slowly wrote out a response, feeling a ghost of a smile play along his lips. He was still beyond exhausted and knew he would need to go back to bed soon.

Dawson smiled, reading the message Harry held up for him. "I remember." He nodded, beaming at Harry. "Good, how are you taking it all in?"

The smiled vanished when Harry held up the pad again. "I'm sorry." He murmured. "Harry, you don't have to apologize. I should be the one apologizing, I never should have taken you to my own home, it confused you and opened too many doors. It was stupid and dangerous."

Rolling his eyes, Harry scribbled out another message, this one longer. He held the pad up, waiting for Burns to read it.

"Thank you for doing that, it was wonderful and I got to be an actual kid for the first time in my life." The smile returned to Burns' face. "I wish I could have done more for you, Harry."

Harry shook his head gently, writing out another message. "It was perfect, I can't wait to pay you back for everything you did for me. Harry, don't-" He stopped short when Harry began to furiously write out another message.

"Better subjects, how are my friends? I'm assuming you mean your new ones. Well, do you remember the little fight you all were involved with?"

Truthfully, he did, but it made no sense to Harry. It was mostly a lot of noise and flashes of scenes, the most painful ones involving the empty face of Kyle and the terror etched in Madi's expression. He remembered everything in his life, including the past year. He nodded several times.

"Well, Kyle and Dave were lost as you know. Tyson came out of it unharmed, save for a few cuts and bruises. Madi is all healed up now, as the bullet didn't do too bad of damage to her leg. Casen is extremely lucky that was treated by wizards and not muggles. The elevators door had crushed his legs down to the bone, but with plenty of doses of Skele-Grow he's patched up now with both legs intact, although last I saw him he was still in a wheelchair, but soon he'll be down to crutches or even just a cane." He paused for Harry to write another question.

"Where are they? Home, of course. Although they're being monitored by a few MLE officers. They should have been obliviated, but Kingsley felt you wouldn't like that, so they're a few very lucky exceptions to the law with us."

Harry nodded, making a mental note to thank Kingsley later. He was growing more and more tired, but at the same time things were beginning to sink in and make more sense to him. He wrote a single-worded question, only he felt this was the most important question of all.

A grin spread across Dawson's face. "It's June you know. You were in a coma for nearly two months. She came to visit you when we first brought you and everyday with her family after she finished Hogwarts. Her graduation ceremony is in a week, I believe. They held mine two weeks post the end of term, but I don't know what they do now. I managed to give her a few moments to sit with you alone. She will be thrilled to see you."

He stood up. "Get some sleep, Harry, you've had a rough time. I'm hoping to have you out within the week if you're up for it, in the next few days you'll need to decide what you want to do about where you'll go. Your room at my flat is just how you left it, but I have a feeling you will want to be with your family." Burns told him somberly, turning to leave.

Trying so hard to speak, Harry let out a grunt as he frantically wrote another message. He held it up, watching the shock on his friend's face as he read it. Harry set it down, nodding slightly at Dawson before he knew he had mere moments before he fell asleep. He heard the door open and close and he glanced down at the pen and pad still in his hands.

_You are family Dawson…_


	10. Chapter 10

"That's it, Harry, steady now. Don't push yourself too far, love." Harry gripped Dawson's arm tightly as he moved forward, keeping his eyes on Nurse Hanley as she slowly walked backwards, beckoning Harry forward.

"No more." Harry grounded out, his teeth clenched tightly together from the intense pain radiating from his entire body.

Dawson pushed him down into a wheelchair, giving Harry a wide, toothy grin. "This is amazing, Harry, your progress is even better than last time. Think you're up for another memory test?"

Harry sighed, closing his eyes to rest for a brief moment. "Yeah, can I pick someone this time?"

Dawson nodded, pushing Harry down the hall with Nurse Hanley trailing behind him. "Who would you like?"

"Ah, how about Jet? I haven't seen him since my last stay here. He never did tell me how the engine of a helicopter worked."

Burns chuckled, glancing down at his watch. "I believe Jet will have a moment to spare us."

Harry nodded to every passing person, all of them grinning at his presence. Nurse Hanley had burst into tears and held him for a solid five minutes when he had permanently regained consciousness. It had been nearly a week since he had awoken and he was going through what felt like the slowest recovery process ever.

Burns was technically on leave from work, but he was still Harry's personal Healer inside St. Mungo's. He claimed he enjoyed it more because he could wear jeans to work without being penalized for it. He was beyond cautious this time around with Harry, doing everything by the book and listening to Harry's needs and desires attentively. One of those being that he didn't want anyone coming to visit him or to even know he was in recovery. This shocked everyone, but Dawson made it happen, having to call in Judy Ferral to help explain to the Weasley family that Harry's condition was worsening and that visitors needed to be banned. Harry felt bad that now the Weasleys were even more concerned for him, but he wanted it this way.

"Harry! I heard you were back, how are you doing, mate?" Jet had been seated behind a nurses' station and rolled out on his chair to Harry's side, immediately lighting his wand and giving Harry the quick once-over examination he was accustomed to receiving every time a nurse of healer passed him.

"We're doing a little memory test today." Burns supplied, crossing his arms in a professional manner.

"All right, Harry, when mixing an antidote for the bite of a magically bred cobra, what do you need to do?" Jet asked pointedly.

"Once the brew comes to a boil you have to add in four unicorn hairs as you pour in five millimeters of the venom, if you don't do it simultaneously the potion could blow up."

Jet grinned, his dark eyes gleaming. "And who's the greatest musical genius of all time?"

"Michael Jackson." Harry grinned, earning a pat on the shoulder from Jet.

"Who?" Burns shot a confused look at Jet who shook his head in shame.

"And you were a muggleborn, that's the sad part. I'd say Harry remembers everything okay, Burns, I'd actually recommend testing to see if he still absorbs information like a sponge. That's what I'd be interested in."

"One step at a time, Jet, we're going to try and get him to walk again first."

Jet grimaced. "Coma'll do that to you."

"Gee, I wouldn't have know that, thanks Jet." Harry shook his head, laughing.

"You know, Healer Green is right, we should test the expanse of his mind." Nurse Hanley said as they were moving toward the lift.

"Think you're up for it, Harry?"

"What do you think?" Harry scoffed.

"Still a pain in the arse, I see." Dawson stepped onto the lift, pushing Harry along.

"Yeah, I feel like those poor nutters with split personalities."

They were silent the rest of the way back to Harry's room where he had pulled out all the old toys and posters from his previous stay to brighten the dull room up. Shifting around the bed to get more comfortable, Harry swiped up his old dart gun and fiddled with it for a few moments.

"Still can't believe it's been almost a year." He mused, gazing around the room.

"I can. So, when are you going to talk to Ginny?" Burns dragged up his normal chair, leaning back with his feet kicked up on Harry's bed.

"When I can make everything better." He answered. "The moment I get out of here, I want to go buy her that ring I promised her."

Dawson studied the man he considered to be a brother for a few moments. "You're a good man, Harry."

Harry didn't answer, just nodded, his thoughts clearly on a certain red-head…

***

Ginny threw her hair back in a ponytail, sniffing loudly. She was a wreck. She had made it all year without crumbling to pieces, but she was now at her end. She washed her face in the sink, breathing deep gulps of air.

He was back, he was home, finally.

But not really. He was still in a coma, even though Burns claimed he had awoken briefly nearly a week ago. Her mother had owled her the day after she had sent her word that Harry had briefly awoken, saying his condition had taken a turn for a worse and they were unsure if he would ever wake up.

And to make it worse, Dawson had stopped writing her updates. She figured he was in a bad state over the matter as well, too distraught to write letters to her. But was it really so hard to scribble down a short note to say if she should start planning Harry's return or prepare for a funeral?

She collected herself, applying make-up to disguise the fact she had been crying, and marched out of the bathroom. Her mum was in the kitchen, the table covered with covered dishes of food, all with labels for who they were to go to.

"Hi, Mum." Ginny glanced down at the dishes; some of the food was for people they barely even knew.

"How are you, dear?"

"I'm fine." Ginny shrugged.

"Charlie should be arriving on Friday so there's no reason for him to be late Saturday."

Ginny smiled slightly, nodding. The entire family was focusing on her graduation to ignore the fact Harry was still gone.

"Do you want me to take some of this stuff to these people, Mum?"

"No, dear, why don't you go on upstairs and get some rest, you look a bit weary."

Sighing, Ginny walked back up the stairs to her old room, sitting down on the bed and looking out the window. Her mum had her staying at home as often as she could, wanting to keep The Burrow full of her children.

"Please come back to me, Harry."

***

Dawson grinned widely as Harry's fingers danced along the keys of the piano. Visitors and patients alike stopped to admire his playing. Burns wasn't really sure what to make of Harry's recovery. It was as though he was trying to meld two people together: the regular Harry Potter and the Harry Potter that had run away with his gang of buddies, traipsing across the globe.

"Hey, Burns, I think I'm ready to leave. Just for a visit, please? I really need to do something." He asked, breaking Burns out of his reverie. He hadn't even realized Harry had stopped playing.

"Well, it's been nearly two weeks and you can walk for the most part…I don't see why not. I'll get you some clothes to change into."

Harry nodded gratefully, standing up. He had been spending his days trying to recover as swiftly as possible with extensive physical therapy and tests on his mind. In order to walk he relied heavily on a cane, though each day Dawson noted he wobbled less and less.

"Hey, how about we get you a lady friend while we're at it?" Harry smirked as they walked to his room.

"Nearly nineteen and still a smart mouthed teenager."

Harry shrugged, walking to the bag of clothes Dawson had retrieved from Harry's flat. "Can we stop in on Maddi and the guys? I haven't seen them since I first woke up."

"Perhaps, we still have to be careful about how much activity you have."

Harry sighed, pulling on a shirt. "Fine, fine, whatever you say, Mummy."

Burns rolled his eyes, opening the door. "Let's go get that ring, shall we?"

"Can I drive?"

"No."

"You take the fun out of everything."

"So I've been told."

Harry shook his head as they stepped out of the hospital a gust of wind blowing in their face. "Where's this shop?"

Harry bit down on his bottom lip, looking down the street both ways before marching right across the road, dodging the cars passing by. Burns chased after him, shouting pointless reprimands that Harry pointedly ignored. He had a serious expression on his face as he hobbled down the sidewalk, ignoring the looks he was receiving by passer-bys who were curious why a man his age would be in need of a cane.

Harry came to an abrupt stop several blocks later and gazed at the tiny store. "This is it."

Burns opened the door for him still a bit taken aback by Harry's serious, mature demeanor. He had forgotten that he had never known the true Harry Potter, the one who had seen things few men had seen.

"You all right, Dawson?" Harry questioned.

Burns nodded, realizing he hadn't moved from the doorway. "Just getting to know Harry Potter."

Harry cracked a small smile, gesturing for him to come inside. The shop was small, a long glass case lining the room. No one was present, but Harry immediately went for the section of the case at the back of the shop, by the door leading to what Dawson guessed to be the back room.

Harry placed his finger on the case, smiling down at it. "That's the one."

"Wow." Burns leaned forward, looking at the ring Harry was pointing at. It was magnificent, yet not too much. The band was white gold and the diamond was large and round, nothing to laugh at; it was probably worth a year of Burns' salary, which was a lot.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, pleasure to see you again!"

Dawson's head whipped up to see a frail, old man standing behind the counter. His face was saggy and wrinkled and he looked as if he were several hundred years old. He wore large glasses with lenses so thick they magnified his black eyes.

"You recognize me?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Of course, Mr. Potter, I remember all of my customers, even when they dye their hair, shape up a bit and get rid of their glasses." The man smiled. "I see you brought a friend with you?"

"Dawson Burns."

The old man shook his hand, grinning and revealing his large yellowed teeth. "Edgar Williams."

He turned to Harry. "So, are you ready to buy that beauty yet? You looked ready to buy it last time, but it's been nearly a year. I assumed something must have come up because you, young man, are not the type to get cold feet, especially with that lovesick grin you were wearing last time."

Harry smiled, nodding. "I'm just as lovesick as before, that's for sure." He murmured.

Mr. Williams delicately slid open the door to the case and pulled out the ring. Harry held it for several long minutes, just staring at it in awe before he finally handed it back. "How much?"

Mr. Williams placed it in the box and handed it over once Harry paid him. Burns was reeling at the price, but he knew Harry could care less, plus the ring was most definitely worth its price, in fact he had a feeling Mr. Williams had even given Harry a good deal.

***

With the ring now secure in his pocket, Harry felt a surge of joy and contentment rising up inside him. He glanced over at Burns who was watching him closely. "Burns?"

"Hm?"

"I'm still the Harry you know, I just have my memory back…and my maturity."

"Now I know what the Weasley family had felt when they had seen you before. You really are beyond your years, aren't you?"

"Fighting an evil wizard and raising yourself can do that to you." Harry told him passively. "You know, it feels strange because this last year has been even more eventful than the last."

"Really?"

Harry smirked. "No, I doubt any year will ever top that one, but it has been pretty extraordinary, even by my standards."

They took a cab to the familiar building Harry considered a home. He walked up to the door, not bothering to knock as he stepped inside.

"Harry!" He was tackled immediately by a crying black haired woman. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too, Maddi." He let go of her and smiled down at Casen and Tyson who were looking up at him with small smiles.

"Hi, guys."

"How are you, Harry?" Tyson's smile grew a bit wider.

"I'm doing pretty good. How're the legs, Case?"

"Not too bad." He glanced down at them, patting his knee softly. "I must say you people's pain killers are much better than ours."

Harry chuckled. "Yes, they tend to be a bit stronger."

Burns walked up beside Harry, receiving welcoming smiles from the others.

"Hey, Doc." Case grinned.

"Listen, Harry, we're having a little…sort of ceremony for the guys…just us and some of the other crews around here. It's Saturday night, at ten."

"I'll be there." Harry nodded firmly. "I know this whole magic thing is a lot for you guys, but I'm still Harry."

Tyson stood up. "We know that, mate." With that he hugged Harry tightly, patting his back.

Casen stood up shakily. "If it weren't for you Harry, Maddi may not have lived and I wouldn't have any legs right now."

"I just wish…" Harry sighed. He felt Maddi grab his hand and press a kiss to it.

She stood up, her eyes wet with tears. "You are always our friend, Harry, no matter what. There's nothing we can do about what happened that night except smoke some pot and get pissed in celebration of a couple of amazing friends."

Harry couldn't help but let out a watery laugh, tears welling up in his eyes. He wiped them away before they could fall down his cheeks. "I got to get going…actually, why don't you all come with me?" He smiled. "There's something I want to do and I think you might want to be there with me."

***

"That's perfect, Harry." Maddi beamed at him as he examined the new tattoo in the mirror. On his right forearm, near his elbow, was a black Aztec sun only instead of a face in the center, the names Kyle Myers and Dave Lawrence were written in neat calligraphy above one another.

"I want one." Tyson rolled up his shirt sleeve suddenly and sat down in the chair.

"Are you sure?" The artist asked, knowing them all personally, having done most of their tattoos in the past.

Tyson smiled up at Harry. "I'm positive."

"And I'm after him." Casen announced.

"Then me." Maddi nodded, wrapping an arm around Harry.

"I'd like one too."

Everyone looked up at Burns, surprised. "Dawson…?"

"This is important to remember. And this is a good way to do it." Burns smiled.

Once Maddi was done and he artist was working on Dawson's, a new thought entered Harry's mind. He had given a tribute to Remus and Cedric. He knew he wanted to tribute his parents and Sirius in other ways, but he had forgotten something very important to him…In fact, he also remembered that he owed a certain someone a toy broom.

"There's one more thing." Harry said, a smile playing at his lips.

When they were walking out of the shop, Maddi peeled back the bandages of Harry's last tattoo, smiling at the name printed neatly on his wrist. "He's your godson, isn't he?"

Harry nodded. "And I missed the first year of his life, so I have a lot to make up for."

"We'll see you Saturday?" Case asked once they were about to part ways.

Harry nodded solemnly. "Won't miss it for the world."

Burns looked at Harry as they walked down the sidewalk, looking for a cab. "So, anything else we need done?"

"Yeah, I need to pick up my black suit from my flat. I believe I only have two days until a certain graduation ceremony that I would hate to miss."

* * *

A/N: There will only be one more chapter after this, unless popular demand changes that ;)


	11. Chapter 11

"Ginny Weasley."

Standing up, Ginny walked across the stage, her robes swishing with each step. She had finally made it. She was graduating.

McGonagall handed her the scroll of parchment and Ginny paused to turn to her very large family who were all screaming, earning them looks from more than a few people. Her mother had tears rushing down her face; her father was frantically trying to figure out how to get the camera to work as Bill assured him Fleur had taken plenty with their camera.

She found a seat with her friends as they waited for the last few graduates to join them. Hermione grabbed her hand, tears leaking from her eyes.

Ginny laughed. "Why are you crying?"

"Oh, it's just that it's over, you know?"

"Well, can you honestly say it hasn't been an exciting eight years for you?" Ginny smirked, earning her a short chuckle from her friend.

The ceremony was over and they only had a few short hours left at Hogwarts for the Graduation Picnic. Ginny and Hermione made their way to the crowd of red hair to see their families.

"All of my children have graduated now." Ginny rolled her eyes as her mother engulfed her in a hug. "Well, almost," she added, shooting George and Ron glares.

"Sorry, but I had to help save the world," Ron pointed out.

"Yeah, and I had to help spread joy and laughter."

The crowd was begin to thin out as families grouped together and set up their own tables and blankets. Graduates shed their robes and many even abandoned their shoes to enjoy the warm weather. Dean Thomas, Seamus, Neville and a few other boys, _or men_, Ginny thought, were stripped down to their trousers or shorts, wrestling and tossing each other in the lake.

Her mother began dishing out food and few house elves even showed up to help make sure the entire Weasley clan had proper amounts of food appearing from the kitchens.

Spotting her friend standing with just her father, Ginny waved them both over. "Come eat with us, Luna!"

Sitting against a tree a few feet from her family's table, Ginny stared out at the lake and the rest of the picnic. She then realized this would be a perfect day. If Harry had been with her. With a sigh, she continued watching and day-dreaming.

"Ginny, come and eat."

Hearing her mother, she started to stand up when she noticed a tall figure coming up the path towards everyone. She paused, feeling her breath freeze as he came closer and closer. No one else had noticed him yet. His hair was short again, now returned to its natural black. He hadn't put his glasses back on, and he while he wasn't limping he seemed to be leaning a little less heavily on one leg.

It was Harry.

That morning, Harry was nervous. It wasn't a shaking kind of nervous though. He simply had a nagging feeling in his stomach. That something would go wrong.

He pulled out his black suit, taking his time to check for even the slightest wrinkle. His hair was damp from his shower and he had taken extra time shaving. He tucked in his white dress shirt and ironed out his trousers a second time before her dressed himself.

"Harry?"

"I'm in here, Dawson."

Dawson came in, chuckling when he saw his friend's face. "You look a little nauseous."

"I know. This sounded so much easier in theory. Which tie?"

He held up two green ties that nearly looked identical, something Burns was not about to say. He took them both away from Harry and unbuttoned the first few buttons of the dress shirt.

"Much more manly."

Harry laughed, seeming to relax a bit. He glanced over his appearance in the mirror one last time.

"Harry, you look simply fetching. Now, do you have the ring?"

He patted his trouser's pocket with a grin. "And I was considering flowers, but she'll probably just drop them."

"Good thinking. How is the leg, need the cane?"

"I'll probably use it later to rest it a bit, but not for this."

"Don't get down on one knee then."

"I don't know if my body will work when I ask her, so I doubt I will."

Burns laughed. "Good luck, Harry."

"Thanks, Burns."

With one quick and silent turn, he was outside the gates of Hogwarts. He could hear the commotion of the picnic and smell food that only Hogwarts could make so deliciously. He looked at the gate and felt his heart sink when he noticed the lock. Why didn't he think about that?

Pulling his wand out, he remembered how teachers only had to tap it with their wand. So, he tapped it. Nothing. Then another try. Nothing. After four attempts, he nearly gave up and was about to send a Patronus to someone when he lost his temper.

"Open!"

The lock clicked open and the gate swung back on its own.

"Seriously? That was all?"

He walked up the path, the weight of the little, black box in his pocket very apparent to him. He reached the top of the hill and saw the groups of families eating. A few familiar faces were at the edge of the lake, a few in the water.

It was not hard to know where his love was. The largest crowd was filled with red hair. They had a table set up a short ways from the lake and he could see her beautiful hair shining even in the shade of the tree she was beneath. He could remember making love to her there, one late night a long time ago.

As he got closer, he only saw her. He knew no one had noticed him even though he was only about a hundred yards away. That was when Ginny's head turned and she froze. She had seen him.

His expression must of been something of pure awe. He knew he wasn't smiling, but he was most definitely not sad. She stood up and walked past her family, who had yet to notice what was going on.

"Harry," she breathed the moment they came together.

He wrapped his arms around her, resting his forehead against hers. "I love you so much, Ginny Weasley."

"I love you."

Lacing his fingers through hers, he tried to pull her a little closer as he let his lips come down on hers for a moment. It was soft and slow, not lasting more than a few seconds.

"Are you back?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Forever. And always with you."

He pulled away a bit, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the box. Her eyes never left his, even when he opened it.

"I was planning on doing this a year ago when I picked this out. Marry me?"

"Do you even have to ask me? I already said yes. And I will always say yes, Harry, I will never stop wanting to marry you and be with you forever."

He slid the ring on her finger and she allowed herself the tiniest glance before gazing back at him.

"We have a lot to talk about. Like where to live, how many kids to have, wedding details..."

Ginny laughed gently. "Shut up, Harry."

With that, he gave her every bit of passion he could gather in a single kiss. When they broke apart she buried her head into his shoulder with a contented sigh. Harry pressed a kiss to her head before he glanced up and saw a very shocked and happy Weasley family.

"What do we tell your family?"

"Does it matter?"

Harry laughed into her hair. "No."

Ron and Hermione made their way to Harry, with Hermione wrapping him in a hug and Ron slapping him on the back. "Good to have you back, mate."

"Harry, you are here to stay, right?"

He looked down at Hermione and then tightened his grip around Ginny's waist. Everything seemed pretty perfect now. "Yes, I'm back for good."

**10 Years Later**

"Harry!"

Nearly falling over, Harry gripped the side of the kitchen counter. He looked down to see a tiny, red-headed girl grinning up at him.

"Hey, love, do you hear your mummy calling or am I hearing things?"

He scooped up his tiny toddler, pressing a kiss to her auburn locks. In the backyard, he found his wife watching over the boys who were enjoying some adventure game with treehouse.

"Teddy, your Gran wants you home for dinner tonight."

The nine year old rolled his eyes in response, giving his godfather half a second of his attention before returning to play.

He set Lily down in the grass, watching as she did her wobbly run to her brothers. Ginny smiled up at him as he sat down on the bench beside her.

"Tyson called earlier, he wants to swing by for a visit this weekend."

"Only if he babysits one night, so I can take my wife out for dinner." He smirked and gave Ginny a quick kiss.

She grabbed his arm and ran her thumb in little circles over Dave and Kyle's tattoo, a habit she had developed over the years. As for the rest of his tattoos, Harry didn't change a thing, though he had added a rather large one when Lily was born. A long vine wrapped around his upper arm with several leaves, five of which bore the names of his family. The top leaf was Ginny Weasley, then Teddy Remus Lupin, James Sirius, Albus Severus and the bottom one for Lily Luna. His entire family.

The shattering of a pot brought both him and Ginny back to reality. They looked to see Jamie smiling sheepishly at them, his hazel eyes gleaming. He was practically a carbon copy of his grandfather only he hadn't inherited the rotten vision. Al and Lily were mirror images of their parents in nearly every detail, though at times their personalities seemed backwards, with Lily often being quiet and Al being the loud one of the bunch.

"So, any ideas for Jamie's birthday?"

"Nothing extravagant, just the family at The Burrow. Did you pick up that model airplane kit?"

"Hidden away in our closet."

"Good." Ginny sighed, letting her eyes close as she leaned into Harry.

With a smile he leaned over, whispering in her ear, "This is love like never before, I don't care, can't breathe anymore." He paused, enjoying the smile on her face. "And water lilies on the lake, you're in my arms and it's not too late...baby I'm yours, I'm yours...alone."

He continued humming as they watched over the kids with a sense of peace and normalcy, and of course, the reminder of how special water lilies are.


End file.
